Chelsea have reportedly been told by Real Madrid that they must pay £67m if they wish to sign striker Alvaro Morata this summer.
The Spaniard returned to the Bernabeu earlier this month after the capital club exercised the buy-back clause in his contract with Juventus.
However, with on-going doubts over whether or not he’ll have a prominent role in the squad next season, it has opened the door to suggestions that he could move on with Real looking to cash in with a Premier League club.
According to The Mirror, the La Liga giants have already rejected two Chelsea bids of £50m and £62m respectively, and have now informed them that they will have to spend £67m in order to land their target.
It remains to be seen whether or not Antonio Conte gives the go-ahead for the third offer, as the Italian tactician has already spent £33m on signing Michy Batshuayi this summer.
Morata would undoubtedly be an important addition to the Chelsea squad, as he showed his class with Juve during a two-year stay in Turin.
The Spanish international scored 15 goals and provided 13 assists in 63 Serie A appearances in total, while he also scored some key goals in Europe for the Bianconeri too.
In turn, he would be a leading striker for most clubs in Europe, but with the attacking trident of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale in place at Real, it’s unclear as to whether or not he’ll be able to displace any of them under Zinedine Zidane.
The Mirror suggest that Conte would like to return with the third improved bid to further bolster his attacking options next season, but with other areas of the squad to address too, he may well have to consider his priorities.