Why Manchester United have possibly ended their interest in Alvaro Morata
After weeks of speculation and ambiguity, Manchester United seem to have zeroed in on Romelu Lukaku to take reins in the attacking third following Zlatan Ibrahimovic's departure. With Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial in their line-up, Manchester United will quite possibly end their drawn-out interest in Alvaro Morata.
The Red Devils found themselves in desperate pursuit of a no. 9 ever since they shrugged off on the opportunity to extend the contract of an injured Zlatan Ibrahimovic. In the ruckus that followed, the Mancunians had been linked to Harry Kane, Andrea Belotti, Alvaro Morata and Romelu Lukaku.
Now reports emerging from the English media suggest that Manchester United have finally agreed on a £75m deal with Everton over the transfer of Romelu Lukaku.
For the past few weeks, the Old Trafford outfit seemed determined on signing Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid.
The Los Blancos president Florentino Perez had been holding out in the hopes of getting a meaty £80m for the Spanish striker. United had their bid of £70m rejected just a few days back. But with reports coming in from around the world that United were on the verge of making an improved bid and ultimately signing Morata, the narrative took a U-turn.
In what can be called an anomaly, Manchester United have hijacked Chelsea's pursuit of the Belgian striker Lukaku. Antonie Conte had been frantically attempting to land the Everton frontman ever since Diego Costa was asked to pack his bags at Stamford Bridge.
Lukaku, with a return of 25 goals in 37 appearances in the Premier League, is one of the most sought after strikers this summer.
The decision to sign Lukaku instead of Morata for around the same asking price is a logical settlement as far as United are concerned. The Belgian has pace, height, strength and is as sharp as a tack in front of goal. Moreover, Jose Mourinho would be taking a leap of faith if he was signing Alvaro Morata.
It is not that gambles don't pay off or the Spaniard doesn't have the ability to make it in the Premier League. But Lukaku has been playing in the Premier League since 2011 and is used to the conditions in England and the nature of the league.
In the 2012/13 season, when he was at West Bromwich Albion, he scored 15 goals. In the subsequent season, when he was loaned out to Everton, he repeated the same feat. In the last two seasons, the 24-year-old has garnered a total of 43 goals from 75 matches in the Premier League alone.
Moreover, he has not picked up any significant injuries over his career, playing 37 out of 38 matches in the previous two seasons.
Unfortunately for Morata, United doesn't have fond memories from the last time they signed a Real Madrid player. Angel Di Maria, riding on the momentum of being selected as the Man of the match in the UEFA Champions League final against Atletico Madrid, arrived at Old Trafford to lofty expectations.
Unfortunately, the lanky winger's form fizzled out after a bright start. He left the Red Devils for PSG in the following year. It could have been the burden of the huge price tag on his back coupled with the inability to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League or the conditions in England that hurt Di Maria.
But the Argentine was more of an established player then than Morata is at the moment.
Given the Spaniard ends up at Old Trafford with a price tag of £81 million, the English media would suffocate him with questions of justifying the price tag. Paul Pogba had to deal with the same when he came in for £89m and in what was an arguably decent season for the Frenchman, his big personality played a major role in not letting the media get to him.
Morata has not had enormous things asked of him at Real Madrid while sharing the pitch with the likes of Ronaldo, Bale, Isco, Modric, and Rodriguez.
That being said, the Spaniard is a quality striker. In 26 appearances for Real Madrid in the La Liga, the centre-forward scored 15 goals. In the previous two seasons he spent at Juventus, Morata scored 22 goals in 42 appearances over Serie A and the UEFA Champions League.
While Morata has fewer goals in his bag, his conversion rate is better than that of his Belgian counterpart. He is pacey, fearless and shows adequate composure in front of goal.
To conclude, while there is not a lot to choose between the two strikers, Morata would have needed to get used to playing 90 minutes, week in and week out, in conditions he is not used to. He will also have to bear the weight of the expectations that come with a price tag as big as the one Florentino Perez has put on him.
At the same time, the 6 ft 3 Belgian too will have to step up and shoulder the responsibility and the expectations that come with playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world.
But between the two 24-year-olds, Lukaku is stronger, taller and has, most importantly, proved himself in the Premier League and for this reason, Manchester United can certainly hope that they have made the right choice.