Chelsea’s latest win against Manchester City highlighted the fact that Alvaro Morata’s days at Stamford Bridge may be numbered.
The Spaniard was left out of Maurizio Sarri’s final squad to face the Premier League champions on Saturday evening, with Olivier Giroud grabbing a spot on the bench ahead of him.
Sarri opted to used Eden Hazard as a false nine against City, which ultimately proved to be a masterstroke as his team ran out 2-0 winners, thanks to goals from N’Golo Kante and David Luiz.
However, the Italian manger’s final decision to leave out Morata spoke volumes about how much faith he has in the Spaniard, who continues to struggle despite being given ample first-team opportunities at the start of the season.
The 26-year-old moved to Stamford Bridge from the Santiago Bernabeu back in 2017 for a huge £70 million fee – as per The Independent – which reflected his formidable goal-scoring record at Real Madrid (despite the fact he largely played second fiddle to Karim Benzema upfront).
Morata scored 20 goals in 43 appearances for Los Blancos during his second spell at the club between 2014 and 2016 – having initially risen through the club’s ranks at youth level – earning himself a sterling reputation as an expert poacher capable of changing the tide in matches as an impact substitute.
He was similarly effective at Juventus between 2010 and 2014, as he managed to hit 27 goals in 93 games, with almost half of those appearances being cameos off the bench.
Morata’s numbers at Chelsea are far more underwhelming, as for the first time in his career he has had to shoulder the burden of being a team’s number one striker while playing in arguably the most physically demanding league in European football.
The Spain international has scored 22 goals in 68 games across all competitions for the Blues, which represents a modest return considering his price tag and his performances at the start of the 2018-19 campaign do not suggest he will improve anytime soon.
Sarri has already questioned his mentality and physical strength, both of which have let him down massively this year and it now appears that the Chelsea boss has finally run out of patience.
With the January transfer window fast approaching, Sarri has the perfect opportunity to replace Morata with an attacker capable of giving his team the cutting edge they have sorely lacked this season, but who is available in the current market?
CaughtOffside has come up with five possible targets for Chelsea in the new year, all of whom could fill Morata’s boots in a heartbeat.
Mauro Icardi – Inter Milan
This man is probably the most in-demand striker in Europe at the moment, having fully established himself as a lethal goalscorer in Serie A over the past few years, despite playing in a mediocre Inter team.
The Argentine found the net 28 times during 34 league appearances last season, which improved on his tally the year before by four and helped the Nerazzurri regain a spot in the Champions League.
Icardi already has 11 in 17 this term and has looked right at home on the European stage, most notably grabbing a late brace to sink Tottenham at the San Siro back in September.
The 25-year-old is a superb finisher with excellent technical ability and he has an aggressive streak which makes him a nightmare for opposition defenders – essentially making him Morata’s polar opposite.
A huge fee would likely be needed for Chelsea to secure his signature but he could prove to be a great investment, with the best years of his career still very much ahead of him.
Romelu Lukaku – Man United
Up next is a forward who moved to Old Trafford around the same time that Morata arrived at Stamford Bridge and has endured similar problems leading the line for one of the biggest clubs in Europe.
The Belgian hit-man has struggled to prove himself as a consistent goalscorer in the famous red shirt, but on his day, he remains one of the most awkward and physically imposing strikers in the Premier League.
Lukaku played for Chelsea between 2011 and 2014 before being sold by then manager Jose Mourinho, only for the two to link up once again in Manchester three years later.
The 25-year-old has a poor first touch and lacks a certain amount of footballing intelligence upfront, however, he can be unplayable when he’s in the mood.
Lukaku still has plenty of room to improve but given his natural attributes – strength, power and speed – he is still a great option to have in attack and if he were ever to return to Stamford Bridge he would do so with a point to prove.
The prospect of the United star linking up with Eden Hazard at Chelsea is a tantalising one too, given the fact that he has produced his best football playing alongside the mercurial winger for Belgium at international level.
Krzysztof Piatek – Genoa
Piatek has burst onto the European football scene over the last four months in Serie A, scoring 11 goals in 15 matches to lead the race for the Golden Boot ahead of Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 23-year-old moved to Italy from Poland during the summer, having only ever experienced professional football in his homeland and he has managed to make the transition to one of Europe’s most coveted leagues look easy.
His success with Genoa, who are languishing in the bottom half of Serie A, just goes to show that he can manufacture chances for himself despite a lack of service, which makes you wonder what he could do with a world-class midfield behind him.
At Chelsea, he would have just that, with the likes of Jorginho, N’Golo Kante and Kovacic feeding him from all angles so that he could wreak havoc in the final third, in a league which might be even better suited to him then the Italian top flight.
Piatek is great in the air, strong, aggressive and most importantly he has fantastic goal-scoring instincts, all of which help to make him the complete all-round centre-forward.
He could certainly add a new dimension to Chelsea’s attack and with a number of top clubs lining up to secure his signature in the new year, Sarri would be well advised to make the Polish sensation his priority target in the January window.
Edinson Cavani – Paris Saint Germain
At 31-years-old the Uruguayan superstar is the joint oldest man on this list, but even as he approaches the latter stages of his career, he remains a unique and devastatingly effective striker capable of scoring goals at the highest level of the game.
Cavani has managed to find the back of the net 10 times in his first 10 appearances in Ligue 1 this term, as PSG have once again stormed to the top of the table with an unbeaten record after 16 matches.
The veteran forward can be absolutely devastating in front of goal if given even the slightest bit of space, as evidenced in his performances for Uruguay at the World Cup in Russia this summer.
Cavani scored a magnificent brace against Portugal to secure a 2-1 win for his country in the last-16 and both goals were absolutely stunning, particularly the first time strike he powered home in the second half which turned out to be the winning goal.
Chelsea could use a man as dangerous as Cavani in the final third and with Eden Hazard to link up with up front, the Blues could add a much-needed clinical edge to their promising build-up play if they could lure him away from the Parc Des Princes.
Gonzalo Higuain – AC Milan
Last but by no means least is Higuain, the Argentine striker who swapped Juventus for AC Milan this summer in a move which shocked fans across Italian football.
The Argentina international was a key part of Juve’s success during their last two domestic double-winning seasons, but he opted for a switch to the San Siro back in August, with many experts speculating that he didn’t want to play second fiddle to Cristiano Ronaldo in Turin.
Higuain is an intelligent striker who comes to life in the penalty area, with a penchant for finding the net from all kinds of unlikely positions while also dragging defenders out of position with his movement to create openings for teammates.
Interestingly, the 31-year-old played under Maurizio Sarri for Napoli during the 2015-16 season, during which he managed to score an astounding 36 goals in 35 games.
A switch to Chelsea next year would see him reunite with his former boss and there is no reason to believe he couldn’t be just as successful under the Italian’s guidance in England, especially with Jorginho pulling the strings in midfield – who he also worked with at Napoli.