Chelsea have stepped up their interest in Juventus striker Alvaro Morata and hope to reach an agreement before the European Championships start on Friday, according to The Guardian.
Morata, 23, has been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal and Manchester United already this year but both are now pursuing alternative targets paving the way for Chelsea to make their move.
Any deal for the Spain international is complicated by the fact Real Madrid want to exercise his £23m buy-back clause this summer before selling him on for a profit, for a fee believed to be in the region of £40m.
Incoming Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is a long-standing admirer of the Juventus frontman and tried to bring the Spaniard to Italy before he left Juventus to become Italy manager in 2014.
Chelsea will need to bolster their offensive options this summer after releasing Radamel Falcao and Alexandre Pato back to their parent clubs. With doubts over Diego Costa’s long-term future at Stamford Bridge, the Blues have also been linked with former striker Romelu Lukaku.
Morata has struggled to establish himself as a first-team regular at Juventus since joining from Madrid in 2014. The versatile frontman hasn’t hit double figures for goals in any of his six league campaigns; only managing seven in Serie A last season.
For more stats on Alvaro Morata, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
