Manchester United officially announced that they agreed a transfer free with Everton over the sale of Romelu Lukaku. This means Real Madrid will have to look elsewhere if they want to offload Alvaro Morata this summer.
Well, I was wrong. Earlier this week, I wrote that the news about Manchester United going after Lukaku instead of Morata was all bluster, an attempt by United to drive Real Madrid’s price down. It looks like that was not the case.
Luka Modric has a word of warning for Alvaro Morata and James Rodriguez 👀 pic.twitter.com/LITunYQeN5
— B/R Football (@brfootball) July 8, 2017
The transfer is not technically done yet. As United stated in their official statement, the “transfer is subject to a medical and personal terms.” But getting the two clubs to agree on a fee is usually the sticking point in a transfer negotiation.
Alavaro Morata will need to find a new suitor if he wants to be on a different team next year. Morata was Real Madrid’s second most prolific goal-scorer last season, but he still couldn’t find his way into the starting XI for the team’s most important end-of-season matches.
It’s hard to see Alvaro Morata staying at Madrid next season. It seems like Benzema’s place in the squad is secure. Arsenal just signed Alexandre Lacazette, which means that Arsene Wenger probably won’t come calling for Benzema’s services as is oft expected.
As Marca reports, Florentino Perez is dedicated to chasing Kylian Mbappé’s signature, but can’t get that deal done until Morata is offloaded. Neither Morata nor Mbappé would be content with playing the third striker role that Mariano Diaz occupied last season.
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So if not United, where can Morata go? Chances are, Morata ends up at Chelsea next season. There are rumors of Real Madrid offering both Morata and James Rodriguez to Chelsea in a massive double-deal.
Additionally, Chelsea reportedly contacted Real Madrid about Morata hours after the news of Lukaku broke. Morata has previously spoken about his desire to work with Chelsea manager Antonio sometime in the future. After all, Conte was the one who brought him in to Juventus initially, only to see Conte depart the club to coach the Italian National Team.
If Real Madrid were trying to get this deal done early, they messed this one up. But Real Madrid still have a top talent on their hands, and have plenty of room to negotiate a good transfer fee from another club. Morata will find a home next season, and Madrid will still earn a pretty penny.
Next: Marcelo doesn't think Ronaldo will leave Real Madrid this summer