Chelsea 'closing' in on £70.7m deal to sign Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata

Chelsea are reportedly closing in on a deal worth €80m (£70.7m, $92.1m) plus add-ons to complete the signing of Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid. Marca claims that the Premier League champions have stepped up the negotiations to secure the services of Spanish striker after his expected move to Manchester United collapsed earlier this month.

Jose Mourinho recently confirmed that Manchester United did try to sign the 24-year-old striker before opting instead to get Romelu Lukaku from Everton.

Morata was also keen on making the move to Old Trafford but the deal fell through with the clubs failing to reach an agreement.

However, Morata's future at the Santiago Bernabeu has remained under scrutiny with the player being still likely to leave the La Liga giants - having been forced to serve as a mere back-up for Karim Benzema during the 2016-2017 campaign.

AC Milan and Chelsea have been touted as his two potential destinies in recent hours with both clubs looking to strengthen their attacks.

Earlier in the week La Gazzetta dello Sport asserted that the Italian side were leading the race but fresh reports are claiming that the Rossoneri have finally turned their attention to Torino striker Andrea Belotti.

Chelsea had also been linked with Belotti and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang but Marca reports that the Blues are now "very close" to securing the services of Morata in a deal worth around €80m plus add-ons.

The Blues have also been in negotiations with Real Madrid in recent days for Danilo but the Spanish publication says that the Brazilian right-back will finally move to Manchester City.

Marca claims that as a result Chelsea have stepped up their pursuit of Morata in order to not miss out on yet another target.

Antonio Conte already tried to sign Morata in the last summer transfer window, having also played a leading role in the Spaniard's move from Real Madrid to Juventus in the summer of 2014.

The Chelsea boss resigned from his post with La Vecchia Signora just days later but Marca claims that both are now expected to have a chance to work together at Stamford Bridge as the deal between the clubs is very close.

According to the Spanish publication, Morata would receive €10m-a-year salary at West London and would become the club's fourth signing of the summer following the previous arrivals of Antonio Rudiger, Willy Caballero and Tiemoue Bakayoko.