Morata makes his case and proves his worth
Despite playing second fiddle to Karim Benzema, the Madrid striker has never let his head drop and his impressive goal return will fuel the flames of a big summer move.
Hard to ignore
Álvaro Morata is becoming more and more difficult to ignore as a starter for Real Madrid. The brace against Granada was further proof to Zinedine Zidane of his current vein of form and knack of scoring goals, and despite being far from happy about his bit-part role at Madrid, the homegrown Real striker has not let his head drop and is increasingly making his claim to oust Benzema.
Form in numbers
The French striker has played 2,924 minutes in all competitions, scoring 17 goals (one every 174 minutes). Morata, meanwhile, has found the net 20 times in 1,881 minutes (a goal every 94 minutes). Moreover, the minutes disputed in LaLiga paint an even more convincing picture for the Spanish striker: Benzema's 1,751 minutes have yielded nine goals (a goal every 194 minutes), whereas Morata has scored 15 in 1,340 minutes on the pitch (one every 89 minutes).
A possible move away from Madrid
After Morata's €30m move back to Madrid from Juventus, in which he was also courted by a number of big clubs around Europe, including Atlético Madrid. he arrived in Madrid thinking he would be a big part of Zidane's plans. However, as the season reaches its conclusion Morata appears to be no closer to playing every week: "I'm playing less that I thought," he admitted after the Granada game, which is why his representatives have recently started to look elsewhere in a deal to suit both the club and player. Contact has been made with big clubs around Europe, including Manchester United, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan and considering his impressive season, albeit as a super sub, Real are likely to receive head-turning offers this summer.