Alvaro Morata opens up on summer transfer conundrum

Bengaluru, November: Alvaro Morata has admitted that he was one of the main targets for Jose Mourinho this summer but he preferred to join Chelsea and is very happy with the decision.

The Spaniard made a £70million move to Chelsea from the La Liga giants Real Madrid this Summer after a lot of speculation and the club-record signing has rapidly built a strong reputation at his new destination where he has scored 7 goals in 12 appearances.

However, the Spanish striker has now disclosed that things could have been different as he was first approached by his former boss Jose Mourinho this summer over a possible move.

United appeared to be leading the chase at one stage, however, Morata eventually opted to join his former Juventus boss instead of the Red Devils and Mourinho had to settle for Lukaku.

And while explaining his decision, the 25-year-old striker said: "Antonio, Michael [Emenalo], Marina [Granovskaia], all of them called me this summer and there was no chance I wasn’t coming to Chelsea.

"They demonstrated to me that they really wanted me.

"I had the chance to go to Manchester United and other teams in the Premier League.

"The important thing is I’m part of Chelsea and I’m very happy with this and now it’s time to fight for the blue shirt. I want to play well and win with this shirt."

However, the 24-year-old also suggested despite the move he still maintains a warm relationship with the Portuguese manager and still is in contact with him on a regular basis via messages.

"We speak, not only this summer. I have a good relationship with Jose," Morata said. "He was my first coach in professional football and he gave me the chance to be a professional.

"He made me the first contact. Sometimes we send messages, not speaking about football, asking if everything's OK and sending some jokes."

The striker will lock horns with his former manager Sunday (November 5) at Stamford Bridge as the high flying United side face Chelsea in a high-voltage clash which could be a big impact on both the team's title run this season.

United are currently positioned second, 5 points adrift of leaders Manchester City whereas Chelsea sit in the fourth place, 9 points behind Guardiola's side.