Football: Chelsea complete £70m Alvaro Morata deal, striker to make his Blues debut at ICC Singapore

Alvaro Morata will join Chelsea on their pre-season tour of Asia.
PHOTO: EPA

LONDON (REUTERS) - English champions Chelsea have completed the signing of Spanish international forward Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid on a five-year-deal, the Premier League club announced on Friday.

The Blues said the 24-year-old will join the squad on their pre-season tour of Asia. Chelsea will be participating in the International Champions Cup (ICC) Singapore from July 25-29.

The pre-season tournament will also feature German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich and Italian Serie A team Inter Milan.

"I'm so happy to be here. It's an incredible emotion to be part of this big club. I'm looking to work hard, score as many goals as I can and to win as many trophies as possible," Morata said on the club website (www.chelseafc.com).

British media reports said Chelsea would pay about £70 million (S$123.9 million) for Morata, shattering their previous transfer record of £50 million for compatriot Fernando Torres in 2011.

Chelsea were looking for a striker because Brazilian-born Spanish international Diego Costa is set to leave the club, having not travelled on their pre-season tour.

"Alvaro has proven class at the highest level and his quality will be a huge asset to (manager) Antonio (Conte) and the squad," said Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo.

Morata came through the youth ranks at Real and made his debut in 2010, but left four years later for Italian Serie A champions Juventus.

He helped Juve reach the 2015 Champions League final, scoring a decisive equaliser against Real in the semi-finals.

Real exercised a buy-back option last year and Morata helped them win the Spanish LaLiga title and a second straight Champions League trophy last season, but usually found himself on the bench.

He scored 20 goals in all competitions in just 17 starts, giving him the best goals-to-games ratio of all Real's strikers.

Morata has also scored nine goals in 20 appearances for Spain, including three at last year's European Championship.

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