Chelsea Agree To Deal With Alvaro Morata After Antonio Conte Signs Two-Year Contract

Chelsea have agreed to a five-year deal with Real Madrid forward Alvaro Morata just one day after manager Antonio Conte signed a new two-year contract with the club.

Alvaro Morata Antonio Conte Chelsea news

The Blues — the defending Premier League champions — had been rumored to acquire Morata since the beginning of the summer, but were believed to have been priced out of any deal. Real had been seeking £80 million ($104 million) for the 24-year-old Spaniard, but Chelsea said they were willing to pay up to £70 million ($91 million). On Wednesday, BBC reported that Los Blancos have accepted Chelsea’s offer for a £60 million ($78 million) purchase price.

Chelsea’s negotiations with Real have been ongoing ever since the Blues lost their top-choice summer signing for the forward position, Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian striker ultimately transferred from Everton to Manchester United on a five-year deal for a whopping £75 million ($97 million) fee to mark United’s second-largest signing ever after French midfielder Paul Pogba joined the club from Juventus for $116 million in the summer of 2016.

Morata would be Chelsea’s fourth signing this summer after goalkeeper Willy Caballero, defender Antonio Rudiger and midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko.

The Spaniard played for Madrid from 2010 to 2014 before joining Juventus. Last season, Morata rejoined Los Blancos and scored 20 goals for the Spanish club, which won La Liga and the Champions League. Morata has also scored nine goals for Spain in 20 caps since making his debut for the national team in 2014.

Morata — who played most of his games with Real last season as a substitute — is currently in the United States for Zinedine Zidane’s first-team tour of the country. The forward could reportedly replace Spain team-mate Diego Costa on Chelsea’s lineup. Costa recently revealed Conte told him Chelsea wishes to sell him.

Real president Florentino Perez, meanwhile, has reportedly been interested in signing Monaco’s prolific teenage forward Kylian Mbappe. Several recent reports claim the 18-year-old Frenchman could cost more than £120m ($156 million).

Conte signed a two-year deal to stay on as Chelsea’s manager on Tuesday.

“I am very happy to have signed a new contract with Chelsea,” the Italian — who will be 48 later this month — said in a statement on the team’s official website. “We worked extremely hard in our first year to achieve something amazing, which I am very proud of. Now we must work even harder to stay at the top.”

“The Chelsea fans have given me so much support since I arrived here one year ago and it is important we continue to succeed together.”

Conte signed on as Chelsea’s manger in the summer of 2016 on a three-year deal after spending two years as manager of Italy’s national team. In just one campaign at Stamford Bridge, Conte has led Chelsea to 30 Premier League victories (including a club-record 13 straight wins) that ended in a title, and also won the Premier League Manager of the Year Award at the LMAs in May.

Chelsea lost to Arsenal 2-1 in the FA Cup Final on May 27.

NICE, FRANCE – JUNE 17: Alvaro Morata of Spain in action during the UEFA EURO 2016 Group D match between Spain and Turkey at Allianz Riviera Stadium on June 17, 2016 in Nice, France. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)