Manchester United and Chelsea lead the race to land Alvaro Morata in the summer

Manchester United are poised to challenge Chelsea in any move involving Alvaro Morata in the summer with Jose Mourinho keen to add more firepower to his squad.

The Portuguese manager has repeatedly criticised his team for their lack of goals and ability to kill off games. He also recently indicated the type of striker United needed by citing the example of former goal poacher Javier Hernandez popularly known as 'Chicharito'.

Morata recently spoke of his interest to play under Antonio Conte after missing out on the chance when he spent a season on loan at Juventus. The Italian manager made a strong push to sign him in 2014, but left the club before the striker arrived. The Real Madrid forward confirmed he has held talks in the past with the Blues boss about playing for the west London club, while also speaking of interest from Tottenham Hotspur.

Clubs in Italy are also said to be interested in signing the striker, but according to Italian publication Calcio Mercato, the striker is not interested in returning to the Serie A unless it is with Juventus, who are at the moment not keen on signing the Spain international. The Italian champions' lack of interest puts United and Chelsea in the driving seat to land the Real forward.

Morata has struggled to nail down a starting spot under Zinedine Zidane owing to the presence of Karim Banzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo, who are the Frenchman's preferred attacking options. He has made just 10 starts in the La Liga this season completing the full 90 minutes on just two occasions.

Real will have the final say on the striker's future as he is contracted to the club until the summer of 2021. If they are willing to sell, they will reportedly seek a fee of around £34m ($42.5m) for Morata, who has managed 16 goals in 35 appearances in all competitions this season.