Real Madrid forward Alvaro Morata failed to score against the top four in La Liga last season... so should Manchester United fans be worried?

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Manchester United moved a step closer to completing a deal worth up to £60million for Alvaro Morata after the Real Madrid forward cut short his honeymoon in Ibiza this week - but is he worth the fee? 

Morata has emerged as Jose Mourinho's primary target in attack, and the United manager is determined to be reunited with the Spain international this summer at Old Trafford, but he is yet to prove himself as a big-game player.

With the 24-year-old deemed surplus to requirements at Madrid by Zinedine Zidane, the striker is expected to move a step closer to a move to the Premier League, and United are currently in talks with the Spanish and European champions.

Manchester United are likely to sign the Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata for £60million

The Spaniard only scored once against top five sides last season, at Villarreal in February

But should Morata become the latest Spaniard to ply his trade in England, he will bring with him a rather undeserved reputation as a small-time player, scoring most of his goals for Madrid last season against sides in the bottom half of La Liga.

The former Juventus forward failed to notch a single goal against the other sides in the top four of the Spanish top flight, scoring nine of his 15 league goals against opponents that ended the campaign in the bottom five.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored many of his 28 goals at crucial times before a serious knee injury brought an end to his season, but Marcus Rashford picked up the baton in Europe as United returned to the Champions League. 

The majority of Morata's goals last season came against sides in the bottom half of the table

Morata scores one of his two goals against Deportivo at the Santiago Bernabeu last December

With Ibrahimovic heading for the exit and Wayne Rooney no longer the force he once was, at least one world-class striker remains the priority.

Morata is the man that United have turned to after Romelu Lukaku made it clear he wants to move to Chelsea and Antoine Griezmann decided to stay in Spain. 

Mourinho knows that 15 draws in the Premier League last campaign - 10 of which came at home - speaks volumes of the need for players capable of breaking down stubborn opponents. 

Morata was behind only Lionel Messi as La Liga's deadliest striker last season, which bodes well given United's need for a clinical forward during cagey affairs, but question marks remain over whether he is a big-game player.

The 24-year-old found regular game time hard to come by and is looking to move away

Real Sociedad were another one of the smaller teams to be breached by Morata in La Liga

Goals came with ease against La Liga's lowly opposition: Leganes, Granada, Deportivo, Sporting Gijon and Celta Vigo all finished in the bottom half and accounted for 10 of his 15 league strikes.

Only fifth-placed Villarreal were breached by Morata of the sides in the top five, while he failed to register more than one goal against any team higher than 16th.

Of course Zidane did not always use the United target in games against the top sides, with Morata often overlooked in favour of the BBC or a more pragmatic approach with the extra man in midfield.

Morata prods in from close range against Athletic Bilbao but he didn't score in many big games

The United target will be tasked with replacing the goals of Zlatan Ibrahimovic next season

Indeed, Morata only entered the fray in the Champions League final against Juventus in the 89th minute in Cardiff, with the already game won, which served as another indication of where Zidane places the forward in his thoughts.

But the sometimes ineffectual performances in big games was certainly not the case during his time in Turin.

Goals in the Champions League semi-final - against Real Madrid - and in the final against Barcelona during the 2015-16 season demonstrated his ability to score key goals.

Should Morata make the long-awaited switch to United, during a World Cup year, he will be eager to be handed the chance of regular playing time not least to quash any notion of him being a flat-track bully. 

Morata has popped up with key goals, including in the 2015 Champions League semi-final

He also found the back of the net against Manchester City in a 2-1 win for Juventus in 2015