EPL

Chelsea, Madrid agree deal for Morata

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Alvaro Morata

Chelsea and Real Madrid have agreed a deal for Spanish striker Alvaro Morata to join the Premier League champions.

The move is subject to Morata agreeing personal terms on a five-year contract and completing a medical and is reported to be worth in the region of £70-million.

The 24-year-old Spain international is set to arrive after the Stamford Bridge club missed out on re-signing Romelu Lukaku, who joined Manchester United from Everton for an initial £75m.

Torino forward Andrea Belotti and Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were also among Antonio Conte’s rumoured targets, with Morata initially said to have agreed to join United before they pounced for Lukaku.

Morata’s arrival will ease concerns over any potential void left by Diego Costa, who has not travelled with Chelsea on their pre-season tour to China and Singapore after being frozen out of the first-team picture by Conte.

An expected move back to Atletico Madrid for Costa is complicated by Diego Simeone’s LaLiga side being subjected to a FIFA player registration ban.

Morata returned to Real Madrid from Juventus ahead of the 2016-17 season and scored 15 goals in 26 league appearances for the Spanish and European champions, although he made just 14 starts.

He joined Juventus as Conte left to take the reins of the Italian national team in July 2014, going on to score 27 goals in 93 games for the Serie A giants.

Chelsea boss Conte was rewarded for his title-winning debut campaign with an improved contract on Tuesday, but the new deal does not extend his stay beyond the initial three-year spell he agreed upon his arrival in 2016.