Juventus finally found their new No.9, but that won’t be Luis Suarez or Edin Dzeko, who were linked with the Italian giants in the past couple of weeks. Instead, the Seria A champs opted for a familiar route, bringing in Spanish striker Alvaro Morata from Atletico Madrid.
Juve confirmed on Tuesday that they brought in Morata on a season-long deal with an option to buy. The initial loan will cost them $11.7 million, while the club can make the transfer permanent for an additional $52.5 million.
Morata previously spent two seasons with Juventus between 2014 and 2016, making 93 appearances for the club in all competitions and scoring 27 goals. He was part of the squad that won two consecutive Seria A titles.
“There’s nothing more exciting than a homecoming, and the return of Alvaro Morata to Turin is a beautiful one at that!“ said Juve announcing the transfer. “Memory albums are there to be opened, to reminisce upon old moments, but also to add new ones, and we can’t wait to create many more memories, together once more!”
After parting ways with Gonzalo Higuain earlier this month, Juventus were left without a classic striker. The club first agreed to sign Suarez from Barcelona, but the Uruguayan star experienced issues in obtaining an Italian passport, which stalled the deal. Juve then turned to Dzeko and even had a deal in place with the player, but the move didn’t materialize due to AS Roma’s inability to replace the Bosnian star.
Since leaving Juventus, Alvaro Morata spent one season with his boyhood club Real Madrid before embarking on stints with Chelsea and Atletico Madrid. In the previous two seasons, Morata played 61 games with Atletico, scoring 22 goals.
