Chelsea agree £58m initial fee for Alvaro Morata Matt Law, football news correspondent
19 JULY 2017 • 7:44PM
Chelsea have pulled off an incredible transfer coup by agreeing an initial fee of £58million with Real Madrid for Alvaro Morata.
In a statement on their website on Wednesday night, Chelsea confirmed Telegraph Sport’s earlier report that a deal with Madrid has been agreed and Morata will now discuss personal terms and undergo a medical.
Chelsea did not reveal the size of the fee, but Telegraph Sport understands the Premier League champions will pay an initial £58m before add-ons.That is almost £20m less than the initial £75m Manchester United paid for Romelu Lukaku, who had been Chelsea’s top target.
Sources close to the deal believe Chelsea have struck a superb deal for Spain international Morata in the current transfer market, where fees have spiralled out of control.
The £58m will still eclipse Chelsea’s previous record spend of £50m on Fernando Torres in 2011.
Morata travelled with Real for their US tour, but will now break away from that to discuss personal terms with Chelsea and undergo a medial.
Having initially left their options open following their failure to land Lukaku, the Blues made a breakthrough in negotiations with Real over Morata on Wednesday and hope to conclude the deal swiftly.
The 24-year-old has been keen on the prospect of working with Conte at Chelsea since the Blues tried to sign him last summer.
Morata scored 15 La Liga goals for Real last season, but wants to move to become the number one striker after acting as back-up to Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.
He had agreed to join United, but they instead hijacked Chelsea’s interest in Lukaku which left Morata in limbo.
The arrival of Morata will be welcomed by several members of the Chelsea squad, who have become concerned at the precarious situation the club find themselves in.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/07/19/alvaro-morata-verge-completing-chelsea-move/
