Chelsea are increasingly looking like signing either of Alvaro Morata or Romelu Lukaku this summer, as a replacement for the Spain-bound Diego Costa.
Incoming manager Antonio Conte appears resigned that Diego Costa would prefer to return to Spain but is adamant to strengthen his attacking options regardless with Loic Remy being sold and Radamel Falcao returning to Monaco, according to the Daily Mail.
Real Madrid are willing to sell him in case the right offer comes in but having rejected two bids worth 50 million and 62.7 million pounds respectively from Chelsea, negotiations seem to have hit a thaw.
Everton’s Lukaku will cost £65m but he has the added bonus of counting as a homegrown player. Morata could prove the marginally cheaper option and Conte is keen to convince him of the move but Arsenal, United and Paris Saint-Germain are also in the mix.
The Spain international is understood to be keen on a move to Stamford Bridge and would prove suited to the high pressing game Conte fashions this season. Having had a good Euro, he will also be more appealing to the fans.
Lukaku, on the other hand, will add to the homegrown count and his 16 league goals last season in an underperforming Everton side would only add to his appeal.
Having played at Stamford Bridge too, he will be familiar with the club and a similar battering ram in the mould of costa.
His proven record in the league could also ensure goals on a long-term basis, along with a less confrontational game which would be welcomed.
Morata is more in the line of the forwards Conte prefers, disciplined, athletic, aggressive with an eye for the goal. Players who know their roles and play by them. Having played in a Juventus side moulded by Conte, he will be well aware of and comfortable with the workload expected of him.
In light of the options Morata offers, it is expected that Chelsea would go after him strongly this window.
With a manager who wants him, a system he’s comfortable with and the extra workload he puts in, Alvaro Morata would be a better-suited candidate than Romelu Lukaku in case Chelsea do replace Costa.