Alvaro Morata is the marquee signing Chelsea wanted but only time will tell if he's the forward they need

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Chelsea had wanted Romelu Lukaku but ended up with Alvaro Morata. The former? A proven Premier League goalscorer and one capable of matching the physicality previously offered by Diego Costa. The latter? A two-time Champions League medallist and Serie A winner who has graced the likes of the Bernabeu and Juventus Stadium with his goals.

On paper, Chelsea landed the big-name, marquee signing they so desperately wanted. Morata has performed at the highest European level, finding the net in both semi-final legs against Real Madrid in the 2015 Champions League before equalising in the side’s eventual 3-1 defeat by Barcelona in the final.

More recently, the Spaniard scored a total of 15 goals from 26 appearances for Madrid, the majority of which came from off the bench, giving him one of the best goals-by-minute ratio in Europe last season. And at 24, the player has his whole career ahead of him to grow, mature and hone his trade.

But while Morata’s arrival may have placated concerns about Chelsea’s transfer activity, there’s one glaring omission from the forward’s game which, for now at least, suggests the Blues missed a trick in re-signing Lukaku: Premier League experience.

"It's important for me to play and to make adaptations to my game. It's not easy: a new country, another language, another style of football,” he said after Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Everton, in which he headed home Chelsea’s second with a well-placed header.

"I need time for all the things in the Premier League but I'm okay, my team-mates give me a hand to make it easy and I'm very happy to be here."

Indeed, his limited understanding of the nuanced details of the English game was plain to see on a sun-soaked afternoon in west London. Up against Premier League veterans Ashley Williams and Phil Jagielka, the Spaniard, no shrinking violet himself at 6ft 2in, was given a lesson in the school of hard knocks. Under these demanding conditions, there were inconsistencies in both his touch and hold-up play while a certain bite was missing from his general game.

Of course, Morata was by no means poor. Quite the opposite. He flashed with menace, displaying razor sharp movement and intelligence on the ball, and notably sealed victory after rising highest in Everton’s box to meet Cesar Azpilicueta’s inch-perfect cross with his head. If he can maintain a healthy-looking goal rate – he currently stands on two from three games – then the £60m price-tag will have been justified.

Not that the player has set his sights on any personal targets, though. His focus is on Chelsea’s collective goals instead. "If I begin by thinking how many goals for myself, probably I should play tennis. It doesn't matter to me. I prefer to win something. I always think this is a team sport."

But, for now, the jury is still out on Alvaro Morata. There has been no razzmatazz or fireworks; no moments of electricity that jolts the crowd into stunned amazement. It has been a respectable start to life in the Premier League – one defined by transition and adaptation. The signs are there – his early goals and two assists show that – but as Morata admitted after Sunday's game, time and attention to detail is now needed to see if the player can set the league alight.