Morata to Atlético and the puzzle that needs to be solved
Atlético have wanted Morata since he left Juventus but Real Madrid would not compromise but Chelsea might be in a weaker position in negotiations.
Álvaro Morata spend the weekend in Madrid. The Spanish striker has decided to leave Chelsea and he has been offered to several Spanish clubs. Atético Madrid is the most likely at the moment and the one that interests the grabs his attention. The player is keen on a move and negotiations continue and while it will be an extremely difficult deal to pull off, it's possibility can not be ruled out. The club have explained that the chances of signing Morata are not zero but it's a difficult puzzle that needs solving.
The variables in a potential deal are as follows. Atlético Madrid are at the very brink of their salary limit and while there is some wiggle room, it's not enough to make a significant investment. Atlético would have to sell a player with the same or higher wage and these players are too significant to move in January. For example, Atlético Madrid are not planning on moving Diego Costa on. Attention has turned to smaller pieces of the puzzles that Atlético would be willing to sell but that would leave Diego Simeone's squad very short.
Needless to say, all eyes are on two players: Nikola Kalinic and Gelson Martins. In the case of the Portuguese, his salary for the remainder of the year is quite small and is just a small fraction with regards to their overall spend as they have communicated to LaLiga when they signed the player. He arrived for free after rescinding his contract unilaterally at Sporting Club de Portugal but the club didn't want to have their caught in a row between the two parties. That case has gone to the Portuguese court of arbitration in an effort to reach an agreement on a suitable fee for the winger.
The other possibility is that of Kalinic's departure. Gelson would have to be loaned out as his situation is not resolved but they could sell the Croatian, who would then be replaced by Morata. The other thing that might lead to a positive outcome for Atlético is Chelsea.
Chelsea know the players wants to leave
Atlético know that Morata is crazy for the idea of the move and knows he has supporters at the club such as Koke and Simeone himself. Atlético have not contacted the club but they are aware that Chelsea want to get rid of the player and the player wants to move. The London club will make life easy in order to offload the player. This might mean a loan without the comulsory option to buy in the summer as putting such a clause in would limit Atlético in the next transfer market. They don't want to put contract extensions at risk in the summer for important players.
In Atlético, they are clear. He is a player they want and have wanted since he left Juventus. At the time, Real Madrid would not compromise then but the situation is different now. They do know, however, that it is an almost impossible operation. Although the chances are not zero.
