Jose Mourinho Less Impressed With Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata Signing
Jul 21, 2017 at 10:31 AM
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has called Alvaro Morata ‘a very good player’ after the Blues broke their own transfer record to sign the Spanish international from Real Madrid.
Chelsea were beaten by Manchester United in their pursuit to sign Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian decided to make a move to Old Trafford ahead of his former employers in a £75m deal. But the Blues were quick to grasp the chance to sign Morata in a £58m deal from Real Madrid and the fee could reach £70m with add ons.
Manchester United were also close to agreeing a deal for Morata earlier in the summer but the Red Devils were reluctant to meet the massive asking price of Real Madrid. Then they went on signed Lukaku in a record deal from Everton.
When asked about Chelsea’s deal for Morata, Mourinho said: ‘I’m not interested in what Chelsea does, really.
‘We needed a striker, we needed, with Zlatan [Ibrahimovic] in his best condition, one to give cover, to give options, him and Marcus [Rashford] was not enough, especially after Zlatan’s injury.
‘We got a big player [in Romeu Lukaku]. A player I can’t compare with what he was a few years ago because he worked with me a few months four or five years ago.
‘His development was very, very good. We think we have a player that is now a top player in Europe, has to prove it at the highest level, there’s always that point, he now has to do it for Manchester United, he has to do it in Champions League matches.
‘But I think he has amazing qualities.
‘I think Chelsea was obvious they were going to sign a striker especially after the situation with the manager [Conte] and Diego [Costa] was clear they were going to sign a striker. They did it with Alvaro and Alvaro is a very good player for them.’
Morata would be a massive addition to Chelsea’s squad as the 24-year old is arguably one of the best young strikers in the world. But his non exposure to Premier League would make him a little less proven than Lukaku in England but the Spaniard has the qualities to become a successful No.9 in the league with Chelsea.
He managed an impressive 20 goals despite not playing regularly for the club and he will have plenty of playing time under Conte this season. The Italian manager is keen to bring more success to Stamford Bridge and Morata will be their go to man next season.