HIGHLIGHT
Chelsea’s hopes of landing a significant transfer blow on Saturday’s opponents Arsenal have been boosted after Álvaro Morata told friends that he expects to move to Stamford Bridge in the summer.
Real Madrid striker Morata is the preferred choice of head coach Antonio Conte to replace Diego Costa, who is remains a big-money target for Chinese clubs and Atletico Madrid.
Sources in Spain have even claimed there is an agreement in place to take Costa to China in the summer, following Tijan Quanjian’s bid to sign Chelsea’s top scorer at the start of January , although the 28-year-old reacted angrily with a message on Instagram that read: “They talk too much s***.”
Morata wants to leave Real at the end of the season in search of regular first-team football and the La Liga club are prepared to listen to bids in the region of £50million for the 24-year-old. Chelsea failed with an offer to sign Morata last summer and are lining up a new move as part of Conte’s plans to strengthen his squad, whether or not they win the Premier League title.
Morata has also been a target of Arsenal in the past and is well liked by Arsene Wenger, but it seems the Spaniard fancies joining Chelsea.
It is understood that he has told friends that he expects to join Chelsea and that he is a fan of Conte, who set up his move to Juventus before taking over as manager of the Italian national team in 2014.
Asked about the rumours in Spain that Costa already has an agreement with a Chinese club, Conte once again refused to make any assurances over the Spain international’s future past the end of this season.
“I think now the most important thing is to be focused on this championship,” said Conte. “We are in a good position and Diego is an important player for us, very happy to stay with us.
“For me, these are the most important things. Not what happens in the future, or what happens in the summer. The summer is far away. We have to think about the present to prepare a good future for us.”
