Five reasons why Alvaro Morata will be a success at Chelsea

It was confirmed by Chelsea on Wednesday evening that an agreement had been reached to sign Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata, subject to agreeing personal terms and passing a medical.

According to the Telegraph, the deal to take Morata to Stamford Bridge could be worth as much as £70M, which as they note, would be a new club-record fee.

There are several arguments that would suggest Morata cannot justify that fee. He has only once scored more than ten league goals in a season, and there is little evidence that he is ready to be the main man at the top club.

However, there is also plenty to be optimistic about as Morata prepares to become a Chelsea player. Here’s five reasons why he will be a success in West London.

He knows what to expect

He may well be just 24-years-old, but Morata has already been around the block a few times. He has made 188 appearances over two stints at Real Madrid and a two-year spell with Juventus. He will understand the pressures of playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, and thus the pressure on his shoulders when he first steps out onto the Stamford Bridge turf will be familiar to him.

Champions League experience

Chelsea are back in the Champions League, and we are going to rely heavily on our frontman to carry the goal burden. In order for us to be successful in the competition, Morata will need to at his best, and he has already proven that he can perform on the biggest stage. Morata has made 35 appearances in the Champions League, bagging 11 goals, and picking up two winners medals. Compare that to his predecessor Diego Costa, who found the back of the net only twice in his 15 Champions League appearances for Chelsea.

His stock is rising

We are not signing a player who is entering the swan-song of his career here, at 24 Morata has his best years ahead of him. Under Antonio Conte’s stewardship he will only continue to grow. Having scored 20 goals for Real Madrid last term in all competitions, he is in the process of catapulting himself to the summit of the footballing world – and we’ll be the ones to benefit from his meteoric rise.

He’s a winner

For some players, winning comes naturally, it’s in their DNA – a la Didier Drogba. Morata is one of those players. Though it is still very much early days in his football career, he has already won 13 pieces of silverware, including four league titles and two Champions Leagues. Let’s hope he continues to fill his trophy cabinet during his time as a Chelsea player.

Born to score goals

Morata’s goalscoring record is often what people use against him, but last season he displayed the predatorial instincts that all world-class strikers have. He made the most of his opportunities, which will be great to see from a Chelsea perspective – we had to suffer through four years of Fernando Torres!

Here’s several more reasons why we should be optimistic about Morata’s arrival, in case 500 of my words were not convincing enough for you.

Alvaro Morata, La Liga 16/17:
15 goals
4 assists
89.4 mins per goal
3.6 shots per goal
63% shot accuracy
Clinical. pic.twitter.com/IoHsnrDz0G

— Talk Chelsea 🏆 (@talkchelsea) July 19, 2017

27% – Alvaro Morata had the highest conversion rate of any striker to score 10+ goals in La Liga 16-17; scoring 15 goals from 55 shots. Ace. pic.twitter.com/7Vt8rQNF44

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) 19 July 2017

Alvaro Morata, Real Madrid 16-17. Big man who dribbles, creates for teammates, and most importantly, scores goals. Big shoes to fill at CFC pic.twitter.com/Sm4D3betMN

— Ted Knutson (@mixedknuts) 19 July 2017

Morata (fast, clever, v.good finisher) was Conte’s choice. Club wanted Lukaku but Conte was worried by his lack of work off the ball

— Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) 19 July 2017

Antonio Conte now is so, so, so happy… Morata with him finally! 😄 #Morata #CFC #Chelsea

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) 19 July 2017

Personally think Morata is made for the PL – Finally going to get be the main man up front, a sub no more. He’ll flourish

— Juvefc.com (@juvefcdotcom) 19 July 2017