Chelsea agrees deal for Real striker Morata
Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata has agreed a deal to move to English Premier League champion Chelsea.
Chelsea has agreed a deal to sign Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata, subject to the Spain international agreeing personal terms and passing a medical, the English Premier League champion said on Wednesday.
British media reports said Chelsea would pay around 70 million pounds (US$91 million) for Morata, which would shatter the club's current transfer record by eclipsing the 50 million pounds it spent on Fernando Torres in 2011.
"Chelsea Football Club and Real Madrid have agreed terms for the transfer of Alvaro Morata to Stamford Bridge," Chelsea said in a statement.
The 24-year-old will give Chelsea manager Antonio Conte the attacking reinforcement that he has been searching for after he was reported to be frustrated by the club missing out on Belgium forward Romelu Lukaku, who joined Manchester United last week.
Chelsea was in the market for a striker as Spain's Diego Costa is expected to leave the club having not travelled on its preseason tour to China and Singapore.
Morata, who had also been strongly linked by British media with a move to Manchester United earlier in the transfer window, helped Real win a second successive UEFA Champions League title last season, but spent much of the campaign as a substitute.
The former Juventus forward scored 20 goals in all competitions in 17 starts, giving him the best goals to games ratio of all Real's forwards.
It was, however, his knack of grabbing vital goals, including late winners against Sporting Lisbon, Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao, that made him a key component in Zinedine Zidane's double-winning side.
Morata was an academy graduate at Real and made his debut in 2010, but left four years later for Juventus, where he spent two seasons.
He helped Juventus reach the 2015 UCL final, scoring a decisive equalizer against Real in the semifinal, second leg. He also found the net in the 1-3 defeat by Barcelona in the final. Yet like at Real, Morata failed to hold down a regular place for Juventus despite his decisive cameo appearances.
