Marotta confirms Morata return
Two years after leaving the Santiago Bernabéu, Juventus’ Alvaro Morata is set to make his return to Spain. Juventus’ general manager, Giuseppe Marotta, has confirmed that Los Blancos are set to utilise the 23-year-old’s buy-back clause, believed to be around €23 million.
Juventus signed the Spaniard in 2014 for around €20 million. However, Marotta has expressed that the striker’s time in Turin is coming to an end. The 59-year old stated,”Real Madrid are going to exercise their right to buy him back. We’re just waiting for them to get in touch and then we’ll see, but the chance of him staying is slim.”
Assessing Morata’s time in Turin
The 23-year-old has had varied success at current Italian champions. The striker has scored 27 goals in his 93 games in two seasons. He was instrumental in Juventus’ 2015 Champions League run. Morata scored the goal that put the Old Lady into the final at the Bernabéu to knock out the club he is set to re-join. However, he has made more appearances coming off the bench last season (18) than games started (16). Furthermore, despite being involved in 47 games, he has struggled for a consistent starting place under Massimiliano Allegri. Overall, the 23-year-old registered 12 goals and 9 assists in 47 games last season. This figure is less than his first season, when he scored 15 goals in 46 games. However, he has impressed at Euro 2016 so far for Spain. He scored twice in a 3-0 win over Turkey on Friday.
The 23-year-old was very successful for Real Madrid’s reserve side Castilla scoring 45 goals in 83. He made his step up to the first team in 2013, scoring 11 times in 52 matches.
A Second Sale?
Interestingly, there have been some suggestions that Real Madrid may immediately sell the 23-year-old once they have signed him in order to make a profit on the him. This seems unlikely, but does mean Premier League clubs such as Arsenal and Chelsea’s pursuit of the striker is not over. Morata could still start the 2016/17 campaign in London.
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