Yesterday we reported that Sevilla pulled out the Alvaro Morata sweepstakes, but it appears that their Spanish rival Atletico Madrid are ready to swoop in and sign the Spanish striker.
The Spaniard is out of favour at Stamford Bridge and has been linked with a move away from the Premier League in this window
After Sevilla pulled out of a deal on Monday, Diego Simeone has now moved to land Morata and bolster his attacking options going into the rest of the season but Chelsea are waiting for a better fee before letting him go.
A deal is yet to be finalised between the two clubs but Chelsea will not budge unless Atletico meet their demands of an £8million loan fee plus an obligation to make it a permanent signing.
Morata has scored nine goals in 24 appearances this season but has struggled for regular game time under Maurizio Sarri. He was once again left out of the squad for Chelsea’s win over Newcastle at the weekend.
Spanish outlet Marca have claimed Morata will even be willing to take a pay cut to rejoin his boyhood club. He currently earns £8million a year at Chelsea.
It is claimed Atletico would need to offload one of their offensive players to allow Morata to join with either Gelson Martins and Nikola Kalinic likely to make way.
Morata played for Atletico at youth level before leaving for Getafe in 2007. He then moved to Real Madrid where he rose to prominence before enjoying spells at Juventus and Stamford Bridge.
Sevilla’s director of football Joaquin Caparros admitted on Monday that his club cannot afford to offer a way out of his Chelsea nightmare.
Caparros, speaking at the unveiling of another striker, Munir El Haddadi, said they pulled out of a deal due to the costs involved.
‘Sevilla is a desirable team for any footballer and Morata wanted to come here, but when we started talking about costs, we realised that it was impossible,’ Caparros explained at a press conference.
Chelsea are looking at signing Gonzalo Higuain on loan, although they will need to free up funds by finding a new home for Morata first.
