Arsenal and Chelsea target Alvaro Morata on the verge of signing a lucrative five-year contract to stay at Real Madrid
Former Juventus star will remain at the Santiago Bernabeu this summer and will be officially unveiled to fans next month
ALVARO MORATA will crush transfer links with Chelsea and Arsenal by signing a new Real Madrid contract, according to reports.
The Spaniard is back at the Bernabeu after Real met the £23million buyback clause in his Juventus contract last month.
Reports claimed Zinedine Zidane was planning to sell Morata to the highest bidder, but it now appears Real have had a change of heart.
Chelsea and Arsenal were both interested, with an unnamed club seeing a huge offer turned down earlier this month.
But the English duo will have to settle for other targets as claims Morata will end all speculation by signing a fresh five-year deal.
It’s said that Morata had £58m offers on the table from both Chelsea and Arsenal, with the pair also ready to increase his annual wage from £3.7m to £5.4m.
Related Stories
Morata’s agent allegedly took these potential deals to Real, and the striker is now set to reap the rewards on a long-term contract worth £5m-a-year.
Morata will apparently pen his contract in the next few days, with an official unveiling in front of fans and media to take place in August once Real’s pre-season tour of the US ends.
AS adds that president Florentino Perez did not want to run the risk of Morata transforming into a world-class hitman elsewhere.
There are also doubts over Karim Benzema’s long-term future following the scandal involving Mathieu Valbuena, and Morata will be give the chance to become Real’s leading central attacker alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.
The news shouldn’t affect Chelsea too much after the £33m capture of Michy Batshuayi, although Diego Costa is angling for a return to Atletico Madrid.
However, Arsenal are in dire need of a new forward and could now be forced to splash the cash on Napoli ace Gonzalo Higuain instead.