Alvaro Morata, who is on loan until the end of the 2019/20 season, will now join Atletico in a permanent switch after two years as a
Chelsea player, in which he scored 24 times in 72 appearances.
A summer signing from Real Madrid in 2017, the striker scored on his
Premier League debut, heading home after coming off the bench in our opening game of 2017/18 against Burnley.
Two more headed goals in wins over Everton and Leicester ensured the Spaniard had netted in three of his first four Premier League appearances as his aerial prowess became more apparent with each game
At the end of September we won 4-0 away at Stoke City, an afternoon on which Morata, who was superb, scored a hat-trick. The striker broke the deadlock after just two minutes with a calm finish but the pick of the goals was his second, a wonderful clipped finish after bursting forward from just inside the home side’s half
It was another header from Morata which instigated a Champions League comeback against Atletico, and early in November he powered home the winner against Manchester United at the Bridge. The assist for that goal came from the boot of Morata’s compatriot Cesar Azpilicueta, a recurring theme throughout the first half of 2017/18.
By the turn of the year, Morata had scored 12 times, although injury problems disrupted his start to 2018.
Following the arrival of Olivier Giroud in January, striking responsibilities were shared between the pair during the second part of the campaign. Morata scored three more goals, including a header in our FA Cup semi-final win over Southampton at Wembley.
Having played the last few minutes as we beat Manchester United in the final of that competition, Morata was selected by new manager Maurizio Sarri to lead the line in our opening match of the season away at Huddersfield.
His first goal of the campaign arrived a week later in a 3-2 win over Arsenal, and after scoring three times throughout October, the following month began with Morata’s brace helping us to a 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace.
Sarri’s preference for using Eden Hazard as a central striker thereafter, however, restricted Morata’s involvement, although he did score both of our goals – his last for the club in his final game – in an FA Cup third-round win over Nottingham Forest.
We would like to thank Alvaro for his contribution and wish him the best of luck for the future.