PHOTO: Alvaro Morata Spotted With Juventus Director in Milan Amid Growing Speculation About Future
There was an intriguing development in the Alvara Morata saga on Wednesday, as the Chelsea striker was photographed with his agent and Juventus director Fabio Paratici - but not in Juve's home city of Turin.
As shown by a tweet from Transfer News Live, Morata was seen in Milan. I Rossoneri have reportedly held talks with Chelsea about the possibility of signing him, according to the Daily Mail. So the Spain striker was with a representative of a club reportedly interested in him - and where he played for two seasons from 2014 to 2016 - in another likely suitor's home city.
Whatever it means, this photo isn't likely to dampen speculation about Morata's future, as it looks increasingly unlikely that he will remain at Stamford Bridge. However, according to Sky Italia, no discussions regarding a potential move took place during the chance meeting.
Although his Premier League tally of 11 goals in 31 appearances seems respectable by most standards - and isn't vastly worse than his record of 15 league goals in 26 games for Real Madrid in the 2016/17 season - Morata's performances for Chelsea are still regarded as a major disappointment by many Blues fans, who no doubt expected more goals for a club record fee of £60m.
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Morata's frustrating season went from bad to worse when Olivier Giroud moved from Arsenal to Stamford Bridge in the January transfer window. It seemed to confirm that the club had lost confidence in the Spaniard's ability to lead the line.
In fact, Giroud's relatively modest goalscoring record since leaving the Gunners may be even more galling for Morata - the Frenchman has made 18 appearances for the Blues but has found the net just five times.
To cap what has been a miserable season for the Spain striker, he was left out of his country's squad for this summer's FIFA World Cup in Russia. Wherever he plays next season, Morata will surely hope that it's a significant improvement on the last one.
