Reports: Atlético fighting for Álvaro Morata on loan

Álvaro Morata could be on the way to Altético Madrid according to Antonio Ruiz, who says Andrea Berta has been in London since Tuesday, trying to convince Chelsea to loan the player out with an option to buy him in the summer.

According to the report, Morata sees it as a good option and Berta, Atlético’s sporting director, will be joined by Juanma López in the English capital in an effort to close the deal.

Morata was supposedly close to a deal to Sevilla with Pablo Machín admitting that the club were keen to bring in the very best and if they could push Morata over the line then he would be happy.

Atlético, who are without Diego Costa for another number of weeks, could be set to hijack the deal.

In May 2017, Simeone had a word with Morata as he passed him on the sideline during a Champions League match, and speculation suggested Simeone told him to come to Atlético. This was at the height of Morata’s struggles at Real Madrid, when Zinedine Zidane was not counting on him. That never came to pass with the striker moving to Chelsea shortly afterward.

The ex-Atlético canterano has failed to find his groove at Chelsea, however, and that has not been helped with the appointment of Maurizio Sarri. The Italian manager, however, is unwilling to let players leave without replacements as we have seen with Cesc Fabregas’ delayed switch to AS Monaco, which looked like a done deal.

Roman Abramovich will have to intervene with a new striker before Morata is allowed to leave it seems, but if there is an obligation to buy in the summer, the Russian owner might be more willing to accept the deal.