Juventus are keen on re-signing Chelsea forward Alvaro Morata this summer and the Spaniard may well have his head turned, according to Italian press outlet Corriere dello Sport.
Morata has had a stuttering first season in the Premier League, despite scoring 14 goals in all competitions so far. The 25-year old has had a couple of niggling injuries and struggled for full fitness. As well as that he has lacked the confidence to step up and be the main man, and as a result has been a mere shadow of the man he replaced, Diego Costa.
The Spanish international was at Juventus for two seasons in 2014 scoring 27 goals along the way, and if reports are true, the attraction of heading back to Serie A could be something that will turn his head.
This is a situation that I believe Chelsea need to squash immediately by stating that they are not interesting in entertaining offers for their striker. I firmly feel that if the blues allowed Morata to leave this summer, it will only end up in regret.
When you watch him play, you can see the undoubted talent that he possesses, but he is also a character who needs high confidence to perform, and that is what he has lacked. He rightly gets compared with former Chelsea and Spain striker Fernando Torres, and not just because of the clubs he’s played for. He has a similar style to El Nino, but he is also similar in attitude and lacks confidence when things are low.
When things have not gone his way this season, Morata’s attitude over takes his confidence and he ends up getting silly bookings for dissent. But even though this is something that I’ve pointed out as being a bad part of his game, Morata is a striker who will only get better, and once he has fully found his confidence he will become one of the top strikers in world football, just like Torres was for a period of time.
In recent matches since regaining full fitness Morata’s hold up and link up play has already improved immensely, and he’s shown signs that he more than has enough to be Chelsea’s main front man.
Didier Drogba had similar frustrations in his first season at Chelsea, and we all know how that one turned out. Chelsea have lost patience with former players such as Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne for example, and as a result ended up allowing them to leave, we also all know how that one turned out. I don’t want to see that situation happen with Morata, and I firmly believe that it wont.
But to play devils advocate here, although it will be difficult to find another top class forward for a similar price paid for Morata in today’s market, if we did end up losing him, it would not be the end of the world.
Why I hear you ask? Well, two words… Michy Batshuayi! Another confidence striker who left Chelsea on loan, became the main man at Dortmund, gained his confidence, and has fronted up to show the whole world what he is capable of.
It would not concern me to have Batshuayi as Chelsea’s main guy next season, as long as we played to his strengths, something we did not do. Back him up with Olivier Giroud and Tammy Abraham, and I would not see a major problem with that.
However, I conclude, keep Morata, he WILL become a world beater within the next year or so and then he will peak, mark my words.
@SiPhillipsSport
