'Not interested': Jose Mourinho responds to Chelsea deal for Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata

Jose Mourinho insists he is "not interested" in Chelsea's imminent signing of former Manchester United target Alvaro Morata and has challenged new recruit Romelu Lukaku to prove himself during a maiden foray into the Champions League.

Morata flew from Los Angeles to Heathrow Airport on Wednesday night (19 July) in order to discuss personal terms and complete a medical after Chelsea confirmed that they had reached an agreement with Real Madrid over a deal that AS report to be worth an initial €80m (£71.3m, $92.4m) plus €5m in add-ons.

The 24-year-old will replace Diego Costa as the Premier League champions' new central striker after reuniting with former Juventus boss Antonio Conte, with his compatriot having been told that he does not feature in the manager's plans for 2017-18.

It remains to be seen if Chelsea will pursue the signing of another forward with doubts continuing to surround the future of Michy Batshuayi.

United were also in the market for a high-profile new striker this summer following the release of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and were heavily linked with Morata before a failure to agree a fee led to them completing the £75m signing of Lukaku from Everton instead.

The Belgian international had been widely expected to return to Stamford Bridge, where he previously worked under Mourinho before being sold in 2014.

Speaking on Morata's move to Chelsea at a press conference held before the Red Devils face rivals Manchester City in an International Champions Cup clash at Houston's NRG Stadium on Thursday evening, Mourinho insisted he was happy with the arrival of Lukaku but admitted that he still had to prove himself on the biggest European stage.

"I am not interested in what Chelsea Football Club does, really," he was quoted as saying by Sky Sports. "We needed a striker, yes. We needed with Zlatan in his best conditions, we needed one to give cover, to give options. Him and Marcus [Rashford] was not enough and especially after Zlatan's injury. We got a big player - a player that I can compare with what he was a few years ago because he worked with me a few months four or five years ago.

"His development was very, very good, so we think we have a player that is now a top player in Europe. He has to prove it at the highest level, there is always that point. Now he has to do it for Manchester United, in Champions League matches but I think he has amazing qualities."

On Morata, he added: "I think it was obvious Chelsea would sign a striker, especially after the situation with the manager and Diego. It was clear that they were going to get a striker, they did it with Alvaro and Alvaro is a very good player for them."