Spain striker Alvaro Morata joined Juventus on a five-year deal for €20 million in 2014. However, there is a high possibility that he could leave the Turin giants at the end of the season.
Morata’s former club Real Madrid hold an option to buy him back in the future. It seems Los Blancos are looking to activate that clause in the summer while there is also interest from several top Premier League clubs.
The 23-year-old striker has an almost identical record in his two seasons at Juventus, with the only exception he featured less regularly in 2015-16 compared to his previous season.
He started in 16 games in the Serie A for the Bianconeri and has scored seven goals. However, Massimiliano Allegri has used him more often in European games, where Morata has scored two goals and further assisted two.
During his time at Juventus, Morata has made a name for himself as a player for the big occasion. He scored the winner against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, scored in both legs against Real Madrid in the semi-finals, and also in the final against Barcelona of the same competition last season.
Morata was one of the best players on the pitch against Bayern Munich in both the legs of the Champions League quarter-final this season and collected his second Serie A winners medal after Juventus won the Scudetto for the record fifth time in a row.
The focus now shifts back to his future with Real Madrid seemingly interested in signing their former player. Morata would obviously want to return back to Spain while he also knows that Juventus cannot pay €40m or more his former club will ask for his transfer.
A meeting has been scheduled between Morata’s agent and Real’s general manager Jose Angel Sanchez next week where the Spaniard’s future will be discussed.
Having now established himself as a key player for Juventus, Morata would want a prominent role in the Madrid side and certainly won’t accept any position on the bench.
“If you’re not the first-choice [striker], it’s very difficult for Morata to come,” a source close to the player told Spanish publications Marca.
There’s hardly any point in returning to a club where he would drop down the pecking orders behind the likes of Karim Benzema and Jese Rodriguez. And his chances will be further limited should Madrid sign their first choice reported target Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the summer.
The Premier League could be an attractive destination for him, with a host of heavyweight Premier League clubs like Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester United are interested in having him in the squad.
Chelsea remains a viable option for Morata, as Antonio Conte, the former Juventus manager, could be interested in signing him. However, it all depends on whether the player at all is interested in joining a club that cannot offer him Champions League football next season.
Newly crowned Premier League champions Leicester City could tempt him with a big money offer while Thomas Tuchel may look to add him to his Borussia Dortmund squad especially after Bayern Munich had confirmed the signings of Renato Sanches and Mats Hummels on Tuesday.
Morata has a plenty of options to choose from. While his first preference would be to return to his boyhood club, the chances of him joining a top Premier League side cannot be completely ruled out either.
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