Chelsea are close to clinching the signing of Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata in what would be a major boost on the back of Antonio Conte’s new contract.
Although there has been no confirmation from Chelsea or Real, sources in Madrid have told Telegraph Sport that a deal to take Morata to Stamford Bridge is “done.”
It is believed Chelsea will have to pay around £75million to land Morata, who emerged as the club’s top choice after missing out on Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United.
Chelsea had been leaving their options open following their failure to land Lukaku and held talks with a number of clubs and agents regarding Morata, Andrea Belotti and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
But it appears the Premier League champions are now focussing their efforts on securing the signature of Morata after making a breakthrough in negotiations with Real.
Morata travelled with Real for their US tour and it now remains to be seen whether he breaks away from that to discuss personal terms with Chelsea.
The 24-year-old has been keen on the prospect of working with Conte at Chelsea since the Blues tried to sign him last summer.
He had agreed to join United, but they instead hijacked Chelsea’s interest in Lukaku which left Morata in limbo.
The arrival of Morata would be welcomed by several members of the Chelsea squad, who have become concerned at the precarious situation the club find themselves in.
Chelsea announced that head coach Conte had been rewarded for his fine first season with a pay rise, which underlined the commitment that the Italian will start this campaign in charge.