Chelsea
Man Utd Could Hijack Deal After Chelsea Table £62m Bid For Spanish Star
Chelsea have submitted a £62m bid for Alvaro Morata but Manchester United could yet launch a late move to hijack any deal for the Real Madrid striker
Managers are now pressing ahead with their plans for the summer transfer window so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip from around the globe. Today, more on the future of Alvaro Morata…
Chelsea have submitted a £62m bid for Alvaro Morata but Manchester United could yet launch a late move to hijack any deal for the Real Madrid striker, according to reports today.
Morata has been strongly linked with a move to the Premier League after struggling to hold down a regular place in Zinedine Zidane’s starting eleven since re-joining the club from Juventus last summer.
The 24-year-old made just 16 starts in all competitions last season and the striker is keen to secure more regular first team football ahead of the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia.
United were initially cited as the front-runners for Morata’s signature but turned their attention to signing Romelu Lukaku after agreeing a big-money deal with Everton for the Belgian international.
That left the door open for Chelsea to make their move and the Daily Star claim the Blues tabled a £62m offer for Morata on Monday as Antonio Conte looks to find a replacement for Diego Costa.
The Brazilian-born striker has been told he can leave Stamford Bridge and while Lukaku was touted as Conte’s prime target, it seems Morata is now on his radar after missing out on the former Everton star.
Conte knows the Spanish international well as he played a key role in luring Morata to Juventus before taking over the Italian national team job and a reunion in West London could now be on the cards.
However, worryingly for Chelsea the Daily Star also claim that United could yet look to hijack their move for Morata as Jose Mourinho tries to bring in a second striker this summer.
United have lost Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney while Anthony Martial is also being tipped for a move away from Old Trafford so it looks like Mourinho needs to bring in further striking reinforcements.
The Manchester giants were frustrated in their attempts to sign Morata earlier in the summer but the Daily Star suggest they could now revive their interest in wake of Chelsea’s reported offer.
United certainly have the financial firepower to spend big on another striker so they could compete with Chelsea to sign Morata if a deal could be agreed with Madrid.
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However, the Blues should be confident about winning the race as Morata wants guaranteed first team football and while he’d get it at Chelsea when Costa leaves, he’d face stiff competition from Lukaku at Old Trafford.