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Antonio Conte Backs New Signing Alvaro Morata & Claims He's 'At Same Level' as Lukaku

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​Antonio Conte has heaped praise on new signing Alvaro Morata, and rejected the idea that he isn't as good as Romelu Lukaku.

The Italian tactician missed out the big Belgian after Manchester United swooped, which led to reports that he was absolutely furious at not getting his top priority.

Real Sporting de Gijon v Real Madrid CF - La Liga

The Spaniard has now joined the Blues from Real Madrid in a deal that could rise to £70m, and Conte is happy with his purchase.

He said, as quoted by the ​Metro: "I wanted him when I was at Juventus before I left. In that period he was very young but now, with experience at Juventus and Real Madrid, he is ready to come to Chelsea and to play for us.

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"You know very well the dynamic of the market: it seemed that Morata would finish at Manchester United and Lukaku at Chelsea. Instead it happened the other way around.

"For me, Lukaku and Morata are at the same level, first choice for a great club like Chelsea and United.

"He made a good step forward since three years ago; now he is one of the best strikers in Europe. He has great potential, he can improve a lot."

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Morata played just 26 games for Real Madrid last season in La Liga, 14 of which were starts, but still managed to hit 15 goals, and Blues fans will be hoping to see him benefit from a run in the starting XI.