Arsenal will move for Atletico Madrid striker Alvaro Morata should Tottenham successfully hijack their deal to sign Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City.
Mirror Football reported on Monday that Spurs have emerged as serious challengers to their North London rivals to land the Brazilian forward. Jesus, 25, is at the top of Mikel Arteta’s shopping list as the Spaniard looks to fill the void left by Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Gunners are understood to be close to the Premier League champions' £50million valuation of the Brazilian marksman.
However. Spurs, having pipped Arsenal to a top four spot and Champions League football, are now hopeful of beating their neighbours again to the signing of the City marksman, who has netted 95 times in six years at the Etihad. Antonio Conte’s side have already recruited Yves Bissouma, Ivan Perisic and Fraser Foster this summer.
Yet the Gunners have identified an alternative to Jesus if they are unable to land the City forward. Morata’s situation is a fluid one; the Spain international has returned to parent club Atletico Madrid after a two-year loan deal at Juventus expired.
For his part, Morata is prioritising regular first-team football ahead of the World Cup finals in Qatar this summer. Juve may yet opt to sign the former Chelsea striker on a permanent basis but their acquisition of Dusan Vlahovic in January and the impending arrivals of Paul Pogba and Angel di Maria show they have prioritised their budget elsewhere.
A report in Marca highlights how Morata has a poor relationship with Atleti boss Diego Simeone and the club’s plethora of attacking options – including Antoine Griezmann, Joao Felix and Matheus Cunha – mean that the Spaniard would be far from a guaranteed starter, even as Luis Suarez looks set to depart Atleti this month at the end of his contract.
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Morata, 29, netted 22 goals in 61 appearances for Atleti following his switch from Chelsea in January 2019 but 18 months later was shipped out to Juve on a two-season loan arrangement after failing to settle at Los Rojiblancos. It continued a somewhat nomadic career for Morata, who has had two spells at Real Madrid and the Bianconeri, alongside his time at Stamford Bridge and Atletico.
The striker netted 24 goals in 72 appearances during his stint in West London but failed to fully replacement Diego Costa at the Blues. He is now on Arsenal’s radar with the Gunners believing they could provide the ideal solution for Morata. As things stand, Mikel Arteta’s squad only have Eddie Nketiah as a recognised senior striker.
