Real Madrid will retain striker Alvaro Morata, taking another Chelsea transfer target off the market.
Chelsea has been a leading suitor for Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata. Real exercised their buy-back clause to bring Morata back to Spain from Juventus, where he had played since 2014. Even though Morata arrived at Juventus after Antonio Conte’s term, the two had been linked for much of the transfer season.
Real Madrid’s decision to retain Morata comes as a surprise after Madrid strongly hinted that they had re-acquired him from Juventus simply to sell him at a profit. Madrid was considered a leading contender for £100 million man Paul Pogba. Madrid needed a significant and rapid infusion of cash to afford Pogba’s transfer and salary demands, and Morata was seen as the cash cow.
With Manchester United all but certain to make Pogba the most expensive player ever, Madrid can keep their money and their man.
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Cristiano Ronaldo’s injury in the finals of Euro 2016 likely played a pivotal role in Madrid’s decision as well. Ronaldo will be out of action for 6-8 weeks with a knee ligament strain, meaning he will miss the first month of the season. Real Madrid’s manager Zinedine Zidane may take an extra-conservative approach to Ronaldo’s return to action, given Ronaldo’s importance to Real Madrid’s La Liga and Champions League ambitions.
Ronaldo’s injury moves Morata forward in Real Madrid’s offensive pecking order behind Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema. In his last season with Real Madrid, Morata finished fourth in scoring with eight goals on 1.7 shots per game.
Morata scored seven goals on 1.4 shots per game with Juventus last season and eight goals on 1.8 shots per game in 2014/15. Morata and Pogba tied for second-most goals for Juventus in 2014/15, with Morata notching five assists to Pogba’s three over significantly less playing time.
Given Morata’s offensive consistency over the past three seasons and his comfort with Real Madrid’s offensive line-up, he will seamlessly return to his former place in their formation.
Chelsea’s signing of Michy Batshuayi mitigates the impact of Real Madrid’s decision to keep Morata. Chelsea’s pursuit of Morata after signing Batshuayi seemed redundant, and foreshadowed the possibility that Batshuayi would spend much of his first season at Chelsea on the bench, or worse, on loan.
Although Batshuayi is young, he is expected to start the season as Diego Costa’s striking partner in a two-man front-line. If Chelsea signed Morata, the hoped-for option was that a Morata-Costa tandem would allow Batshuayi a more gradual learning curve to the physical demands of the Premier League and the tactical demands of playing for Antonio Conte.
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Alvaro Morata and Michy Batshuayi each made the other surplus to requirements at Chelsea. Real Madrid’s decision to retain Morata takes an unnecessary decision off Chelsea’s plate, and both teams will benefit as a result.
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