Álvaro Morata's Chelsea nightmare is over after agreeing to join Atlético Madrid on loan until the end of next season.
Madrid part III for Morata
Morata joined the Blues in 2017 for a reported £58million from Real Madrid and initially looked to have settled well, scoring 10 times in the first half of his debut Premier League campaign.
But he netted just once more for the rest of 2017-18, as injuries and poor form severely disrupted his impact.
Maurizio Sarri opted to keep Morata after joining from Napoli, but the Spain international struggled again this season, scoring five times in 16 Premier League outings.
After Morata and Olivier Giroud shared Chelsea strike duties in the early weeks of 2018-19, Sarri has preferred to use Eden Hazard in a false nine role of late.
Last week's signing of Gonzalo Higuain on a loan deal from Morata's former club Juventus pushed the Spaniard, who was not selected for the World Cup, down the pecking order.
Sarri confirmed Morata had asked to leave the club and the 26-year-old has got his wish.
"I'm very happy and proud to be here. I can't wait to start training, meet my new team-mates and play," Morata said.
Sarri has suggested Morata's problems are mental, and the striker will hope being back in familiar surroundings aids his cause. Although a former Real Madrid player as a professional, Morata was first on the books of Atlético as a kid. His signing should take some of the pressure off Antoine Griezmann as their main goalscorer following injury to Diego Costa.
Morata's arrival will likely pave the way for Nikola Kalinic to leave, despite only joining in August.
Some would argue that the timing of this move is perfect with two particularly huge games coming up in the next few weeks. On 9 February Atlético welcome Real Madrid to the Wanda Metropolitano and then 20 February will see Cristiano Ronaldo and co. pitch up as Morata's other former club Juventus battle for the Champions League.
Source: AS