Chelsea lead Manchester in Alvaro Morata race with Real Madrid striker wanted across Europe
CHELSEA appear to have moved clear of Manchester United in the race to sign Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata.
United have been keeping tabs on the unsettled forward as boss Jose Mourinho looks to improve his attacking options at Old Trafford.
Chelsea have emerged as the front-runners in the race to sign Alvaro MorataGetty Images
Morata has become one of the most wanted players in Europe now it looks as though he is ready to quit the Bernabeu just a year after returning to the club.
Spanish newspaper AS claim the 24-year-old has received offers from United, Tottenham, Juventus, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund.
Morata is likely to leave Real Madrid at the end of the season after struggling for regular starting rolesGetty Images
But they say it is Antonio Conte’s Chelsea who have emerged as the more likely to land the Spanish international as they look to replace Diego Costa at Stamford Bridge.
Costa is on the verge of quitting Chelsea this summer despite helping the club to the verge of the Premier League title.
David Luiz splashes out £1.1m on luxury bracelets for Chelsea team-mates to celebrate winning title… and gift for Abramovic is made from FIVE BILLION-year-old meteorite
DONE DEAL
Man United boss Jose Mourinho makes Espanyol's Arnau Puigmal his first summer signing
Emirates civil war
Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov makes staggering £1BILLION bid to buy Stan Kroenke's majority stake in Arsenal
german off-icieny
Bibiana Steinhaus will become Bundesliga's first female referee — and she's Howard Webb's girlfriend
WAYNING POWERS
Jose Mourinho reveals Wayne Rooney faces 'very difficult' situation as he comes to 'last part of career'
KYL-ER BLOW
Liverpool have £64m bid for Monaco star Kylian Mbappe turned down, according to bizarre rumour
'Gary has good prospects'
Antonio Conte confirms Gary Cahill is in line to replace John Terry as Chelsea captain
'NOT A COACH'
Arsene Wenger can't coach his way out of a paper bag and Arsenal blocked my return FOUR times, says Tony Adams
Valentina's Day
Juventus boss Max Allegri's stunning daughter Valentina sends social media into frenzy with sexy bikini selfies
MANC MESSI
Meet Angel Gomes... the Manchester United wonderkid being compared to Barcelona great
Yoko oh yes
Chelsea to ramp up bid to land Tiemoue Bakayoko for £43m and could throw in Michy Batshuayi to seal deal
ALL WHITE FOR SOME
Manchester United train ahead of their final Premier League match... but has Paul Pogba forgotten his boots?
FRANCKS FOR EVERYTHING!
Bayern Munich to let Franck Ribery return to Marseille this summer after decade of service
JOSE'S JUNIORS
Jose Mourinho set to name TEN Man Utd kids in his squad for final Prem game of season against Palace
Ajax to grind
Jose Mourinho says Ajax should not be in Europa League because they played Champions League
Blues in Aub-it
Chelsea want Borussia Dortmund's 37-goal hero Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to replace Diego Costa
Spain pain
Marcos Alonso snubbed by Spain as Arsenal's Nacho Monreal gets nod... but Bellerin drops to under-21s
Dier Straits
Tottenham shaken as Eric Dier wants to leave along with Kyle Walker and Danny Rose... as both Manchester clubs prepare to swoop for Spurs stars
Talisman
Antonio Conte promises to build Chelsea team around Eden Hazard if Belgian signs new £300k-a-week deal
AND HE'S WON IT
Ander Herrera bags player of the year award at Man United's lavish end of season bash hosted by Rachel Riley
So Conte knows he needs to bring in at least one top class forward and Morata is high on his wanted list.
The forward impressed during a two-year spell in Serie A with Juventus, leading to Real activating their buy-back clause for the players last summer.
Morata impressed during his spell with Juventus and the Serie A club would love to take him back to TurinGetty ImagesDiego Costa could be on the way out of Chelsea over the summerRex Features
But he has been forced to settle for a place on the bench under Zinedine Zidane for much of this season and is now pushing for a move in an effort to find regular first team football.
Real are unlikely to stand in his way as long as someone stumps up a fee of around £40million – well within the budget of Chelsea, especially if they receive a big fee for Costa.
Key to Chelsea’s bid is the fact Conte is in charge at Stamford Bridge, with Morata happy to link up with the man he worked under at Juve.
Leave a comment