According to reports, Chelsea could offer Alvaro Morata to Inter Milan this summer in a high-profile swap deal for Mauro Icardi.
Alvaro Morata arrived at Chelsea amidst a lot of fanfare last summer but failed to live up to his reputation. The £155,000-a-week forward started the season well by scoring 6 goals in his first 6 league games but he suffered from a lack of form that saw him go 13 games without scoring. Morata also had to battle a persistent back injury that derailed his first season in England.
Poor form and constant injury problems saw Morata miss out on the Spain squad for the World Cup, with the manager Julien Lopetegui preferring Diego Costa, Iago Aspas and Rodrigo ahead of the 25-year-old Chelsea striker.
In stark contrast to Morata, Mauro Icardi enjoyed a brilliant season with Inter Milan, netting 29 goals in 34 appearances. The Argentine also netted an all-important penalty in a dramatic final day comeback win at Lazio that helped Inter seal a place in the Champions League. With 29 goals under his banner, Icardi also finished alongside Lazio’s Ciro Immobile as the league’s joint-top scorer.
Regardless of enjoying a fabulous season at San Siro, Icardi was overlooked by Jorge Sampaoli while announcing the Argentina squad for the World Cup. The 25-year-old was omitted from the squad as Sampaoli opted for Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero and Paulo Dybala to complement Lionel Messi in the attack.
Coming back to Morata, it would be unfair to judge the Spaniard over a single season in the Premier League.
The Premier League is one of the most demanding leagues across Europe and Morata certainly couldn’t adjust himself properly and often cut a frustrated figure in Chelsea colours.
However, offloading an inconsistent Morata for one of the goal-scoring tanks in Icardi certainly makes sense for Chelsea.
29 goals in 34 games is simply a ridiculous return for Icardi who is yet to reach his peak. Since arriving at Inter from Sampdoria in 2012, the Argentine has proven to be one of the deadliest strikers. He has gone from a clumsy, frustrated striker to a relentless, hard-working centre-forward in a matter of a couple of years. Most importantly, Icardi’s transformation has come from being handed the captain’s armband in 2015.
In just a couple of years, Icardi has become an all-round striker who not only knows how to put the ball in the back of the net but also work his socks off without the ball.
It is a matter time before Icardi is lured away from Inter by a big club. If Chelsea are genuinely interested in signing Icardi and are ready to let Morata go the other way, then the Premier League club will be the winner in every way.
On the other hand, Morata, whose best seasons have come at Juventus, will also get a chance to kick-start his career in Inter colours. The Spaniard would be willingly happy to make a return to Italy and start working hard in a bid to get selected for the World Cup 2022.