Atletico Madrid have confirmed the signing of Alvaro Morata from Chelsea on an 18-month loan deal.
The Spaniard had struggled at Chelsea since joining from Real Madrid last summer and had been linked with a move away, having told the club of his desires to leave in December.
Morata signs for Atletico: Five key things to know…
- Alvaro Morata joined Chelsea in 2017 from Real Madrid for £60m, replacing Diego Costa.
- The Spaniard started well for the Blues scoring on debut against Burnley.
- But Morata truly struggled to get a foothold in the Premier League, with both Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri voicing their displeasure.
- Chelsea recently signed Gonzalo Higuain on loan from AC Milan, effectively ending Morata’s time at the club.
- And Atletico Madrid have now confirmed the signing of Morata on an 18-month loan deal.
Morata was part of a complex transfer merry-go-round including Genoa, AC Milan and Monaco with clubs requiring to make room for strikers before confirming moves.
For Morata, Atletico Madrid needed to get rid of Gelson Martins, while the Spaniard was not allowed to leave Chelsea until they had signed Gonzalo Higuain – a move held up by Milan’s search for a replacement.
But, with three days remaining in the January transfer window, and having completed his medical on Sunday, Morata has officially joined Atletico on loan until the end of next season.
Speaking to Atletico’s website shortly after the move, Morata said: “I feel very happy, I am very happy and very proud to be here, I can not wait to train, be with my teammates and to play.”
The deal sees Morata return to Atletico having come through the club’s academy, before moving to rivals Real Madrid. This connection saw the Spaniard booed when Chelsea travelled to the Wanda Metropolitano last season in the Champions League, with Morata scoring as the Blues won.
And Atletico fans voiced their criticism over Morata once more at the weekend as the deal moved closers, with supporters feeling he was standing in the way of one of their academy products Borja Garces.
In the second half of Atleti’s 2-0 win over Getafe on Saturday supporters could be heard chanting ‘Menos Morata y mas Borja Garces’ [‘Less Morata, more Borja Garces’], with fans eager to see academy product Garces given more first-team opportunities.
Chelsea bid farewell to Morata
Despite his overall underwhelming time at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea gave Morata a fond farewell when announcing the Spaniard’s departure.
A statement released on the club’s official website read: “Alvaro Morata has today joined Atletico Madrid on loan until the end of the 2019/20 season.
“The Spanish striker departs following a one-and-a-half season spell at Stamford Bridge, a period in which he scored 24 goals in 72 appearances.
“In moving to Atletico, who are second in La Liga, Morata re-joins the club where his career began.
“A summer signing from Atletico’s city-based rivals Real Madrid in the summer of 2017, Morata scored on his Premier League debut for Chelsea, heading home after coming off the bench in our opening game of last season against Burnley.
“He continued to score with regularity during his first half-season, including a hat-trick at Stoke and a winner against Manchester United. By the turn of the year, Morata had scored 12 times, although injury problems disrupted his start to 2018.
“Following the arrival of Olivier Giroud in January, striking responsibilities were shared between the pair during the second part of the campaign. Morata scored three goals, including a header in our FA Cup semi-final win over Southampton at Wembley.
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“Having played the last few minutes as we beat Manchester United in the final of that competition, Morata was selected by new manager Maurizio Sarri to lead the line in our opening match of this season away at Huddersfield.
“Sarri’s preference for using Eden Hazard as a central striker during the last couple of months, however, has restricted Morata’s involvement, although he did score both of our goals in a 2-0 FA Cup third-round win over Nottingham Forest earlier this month.
“We wish Alvaro the very best of luck for his loan period.”
The post Atletico Madrid confirm Alvaro Morata signing on 18-month loan deal appeared first on Squawka News.
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