What’s the story?
According to Spanish website OK Diario, Arsenal have reignited their interest in Real Madrid forward Alvaro Morata. Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has been a long-time admirer of the Spanish striker and is reportedly ready to launch a bid in the next summer.
The report also adds that Arsenal will be tempting Real Madrid with an irresistible offer to secure the services of the forward. Madrid, on the other hand, want to keep hold of their man and would be unwilling to let him go.
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In case you didn’t know…
Morata spent two successful seasons at Juventus after arriving in 2014 for a fee of €20 million from Real Madrid. However, a buy-back clause in his contract meant that his parent club could buy him back for a fee of €30 million in the summer of 2016.
It was widely reported that Madrid would be shrewd in doing business, that they would activate the clause to buy back Morata only to sell him at a higher price with a host of clubs including Arsenal reportedly interested in signing him. However, a transfer ban on the Los Blancos meant that Morata stayed in Spain.
The heart of the matter
Morata is struggling for game time since returning to the Spanish capital. Zinedine Zidane has a number of big stars to take the starting place in the line-up and it is difficult for any youngster to find a place especially in attack.
With the likes of Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo in the ranks, Morata’s chances of being a regular starter at the Santiago Bernebau are slim. The 24-year-old forward has only made six starts in the league while making six further appearances from the bench.
He has scored five times and assisted twice in the league, an impressive showing. But still, he has not been able to cement his spot in Zidane’s starting XI. Overall, he has already scored 14 times across all competitions this season in 29 appearances.
With Arsenal willing to offer him a regular starting place, he might be tempted to move to England. Wenger thinks that Morata will forge a good partnership with Olivier Giroud in the attack.
What next?
Arsenal have been previously linked with Morata on numerous occasions. However, the deal has never materialised. Now, it remains to be seen if the Spanish striker indeed moves to Arsenal or not.
Sportskeeda’s take
A move could be beneficial for both parties. With the transfer ban on Madrid now being revoked, it is likely they will spend heavily in the summer. This would mean that Morata would be pushed further down the pecking order.
Madrid could get some cash by selling the out of favour striker, who is hot property in Europe. Nonetheless, one should not forget that Wenger has ‘almost signed’ a lot of top strikers in the past.
