He was Antonio Conte’s preferred target
That’s according to Guillem Balague. The Spaniard was reportedly the Italian’s first choice as he had doubts over Romelu Lukaku’s work rate and ability to press. The club opted to prioritise the now Manchester United striker but turned to Morata as soon as they missed out.
His goal to minute ratio was the best in the Real Madrid squad
Morata scored a goal every 89 minutes for the La Liga and Champions League winners with a superb ratio. That may have been affected by the fact that Zinedine Zidane rarely put his trust in the striker to start games, but he was a devastating impact substitute and always impressed when given the opportunity to start.
His conversion rate was far higher than Diego Costa’s
27% of Morata’s shots found the back of the net, compared to just 18% of Diego Costa’s. With Costa on his way out, Chelsea will need at least a like for like replacement and it seems that in Morata, they’ve secured an upgrade. With more pace and fewer disciplinary concerns, it could be money well spent.
At 24 years of age, Morata will only get better
Every season has shown signs of improvement for Morata. Despite moving to Juventus from Madrid and then back again, with very little stability or security, he has continued his development with last season showing him to be the complete striker when Zinedine Zidane gave him the opportunity to impress.
He has wanted to work with Antonio Conte for a long time
Signed by Conte for Juventus only for the Chelsea boss to leave Turin to take on the job of the Italian national team before even giving Morata his debut, the pair have nearly linked before. Only in April, Morata told the Guardian:
“I remember talking to my dad then and him saying: ‘This guy’s going to win the league there [at Chelsea]’… Conte is the manager who most ‘bet’ on me, without even ever having had me in his team…”
“I feel indebted to him because he’s the coach that most trusted in me, most wanted me, who made me feel I could perform at the highest level. And yet I’ve never had the fortune to actually work with him. I’m sure sooner or later I will.”
Now he finally has that chance to excel under the Italian.
No comments:
Post a Comment