Chelsea boss Antonio Conte heaps praise on Alvaro Morata claiming he is the perfect striker to lead the line as Diego Costa leaves Stamford Bridge for Atletico Madrid
ANTONIO CONTE finally has a striker at Chelsea he can trust to lead the line AND marry your daughter.
Clean-cut Alvaro Morata is officially replacing bad-boy Diego Costa as he finalises his drawn-out Atletico Madrid move.
And the Spaniard has earned the ultimate thumbs-up from manager and dad-of-one Conte ahead of returning to the team today.
The two are totally different players, with Costa a spiky wind-up merchant and Morata the slick finisher with a nice-guy image.
On the eve of their Prem trip to Stoke, boss Conte said: “I like Alvaro because he is a complete player and also has a lot of room to improve.
“He’s very committed and his behaviour is fantastic. He is a very polite player — I like this — and I like his finishing.
“Morata feels the goal in every moment — he’s very good at understanding which is the best position in the box to receive the ball, to understand where the ball is going.
“He’s a really good guy. What I mean is that he is the sort of man that you wouldn’t mind your daughter marrying or bringing home to you.”
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Trouble is the girls always seem to fancy the bad boys, which would make Costa a No 1 heart-throb, given his hot-headed temperament and wicked sense of humour.
But doting dads up and down the country can sigh with relief that Costa is back in Madrid.
And the Spanish international is unlikely to return to England any time soon now he has his dream move back to Spain.
Italian Conte does not like to dwell on the past, especially when it surrounds Costa’s bitter exit from Stamford Bridge.
Nobody can deny his input helping the team win two Premier League titles in his three years.
But Conte must now focus on moulding ex-Real Madrid star Morata, 24, into the player he wants to win more silverware.
Conte said: “For me No 9 is very important as it is a point of reference for our play.
“Last season Costa played well and now this season we have changed the striker and have Alvaro and Michy Batshuayi.
“But don’t forget I have another option — Eden Hazard. Last season he played No 9 twice.
“In Morata and Batshuayi, we are talking two players who are very strong and talented — two real No 9s.
“But I ask the same hard work of Alvaro and Michy and the same when I play Eden in that position.
“Every single player was so important last season as we won the Premier League title.
“Maybe it was a big surprise and also to reach the final of the FA Cup.
“But every player performed in a fantastic way and I want to thank everyone who played last season for Chelsea.”
Meanwhile, French midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko is available for Chelsea today despite a car crash as he left training on Thursday.
