Manchester United have been offered the chance to sign Atletico Madrid striker Alvaro Morata after ripping up their plans to sign Marko Arnautovic from Bologna.
United submitted a shock bid worth around £7million over the weekend for Arnautovic – who shares a personal connection with Ten Hag – but swiftly discontinued their interest following a fierce backlash from fans over previous comments made by the Austrian international.
United are desperately in need of attacking reinforcements after Cristiano Ronaldo's desire to leave the club just one year after his return to Old Trafford while Edinson Cavani has left the club following the expiration of his contract and Mason Greenwood is no longer part of the first-team squad.
Morata, 29, has now emerged as a transfer target after returning to the Spanish capital following two seasons on loan at Italian giants Juventus. The Bianconeri's signing of Dusan Vlahovic in January displaced the Spaniard as the side's main striker and he has subsequently returned to Atletico.
However, the Spanish club need to raise funds in the closing weeks of the summer transfer window and Morata is a prime player to be moved on. The club are already well-stocked in attack with the likes of Joao Felix, Antoine Griezmann and Matheus Cunha all competing for first-team places, despite the summer exit of Luis Suarez.
The Spain international scored 32 goals in 92 appearances at Juve but is not considered to have the ruthless goalscoring edge to establish himself as an undisputed striker at a top club. He now looks likely to once again be on the move this summer.
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A report from ESPN details how United have been offered the opportunity to sign the striker although it remains unclear if the coaching staff at Old Trafford consider him to be an ideal target for the club.
Morata bagged 24 goals across a season and a half at Chelsea, who he joined in 2017 from Real Madrid – after Manchester United preferred signing Romelu Lukaku that summer. Ironically, Lukaku did end up signing for Chelsea – via Inter Milan, where he is now back on loan – in 2021 while Morata is once again being linked with a move to United.
The striker is generally seen as being first-choice at international level for Spain and he is prioritising regular first-team football ahead of this winter's World Cup finals in Qatar. That opportunity may be offered to him at Old Trafford. Neither Anthony Martial or Cristiano Ronaldo were fit enough to start the 2-1 loss at Old Trafford. But Ten Hag was tight-lipped when asked to shed light on United's plans to bolster their forward line in the final three weeks of summer transfer window.
