Real Madrid transfer news: Two out of three fans want Alvaro Morata back from Juventus in £23.4m deal

Real Madrid have been encouraged to activate a €30m (£23.4m, $33.8m) buy-back option to lure Alvaro Morata back to the Santiago Bernabeu ahead of next season after a poll conducted by AS revealed that two out of three fans want his return from Juventus. Recent reports in Spain claimed that Los Blancos were ready to re-sign the striker but only to sell him again to the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool for a bigger a profit.

Morata made his first-team debut at Real Madrid back in 2010 under former manager Jose Mourinho after garnering a reputation as the next big thing to emerge from Los Blancos' academy. Yet, his opportunities were restricted following the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti and in the summer of 2014 the club agreed to sell him to Juventus for a fee worth €20m but with a buy-back option should the Spaniard become a major in Serie A.

Football Leaks recently disclosed the details of the agreement, with Real Madrid having to pay €30m between July 1 and 15 of 2016 – or in 2017 – to get him back if Morata plays more than 50% of the minutes in Serie A as has happened.

Marca last month reported Real Madrid had decided to go ahead with the deal to take advantage of his rising reputation and offer him for sale for around €50m. The Spanish publication claimed Manchester United and Liverpool were leading the race to secure his services, pointing out that the potential rumoured arrival of Mourinho at Old Trafford could swing the deal after the Portuguese boss handed Morata his Real Madrid debut.

Juventus CEO Beppe Marotta admitted the club feared the possibility they could be forced to sell Morata to his former club. "Madrid could be forced to buy back the player but it is possible and they don't have the slightest sporting interest in Morata," Marotta said, as quoted by AS. "We hope they don't re-sign him and try to get more money for him. They have that right. There's a term to run and we don't know if they will do it or not."

The deal looked like a perfect business for Real Madrid to fund the move to secure the services of a new Galactico striker, amid recurrent reports linking them with both Bundesliga stars Robert Lewandowski and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. However, a poll conducted by AS, whose readers are mostly made up of Real Madrid fans, revealed that they preffered Morata to lead their attacking line next season alongside Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.

Asked whether Real Madrid should re-sign Morata, almost 65% of the fans replied yes while the rest felt otherwise.

The potential deal was already on the table last season after Morata played a crucial role in Juventus' successful 2014/15 campaign, scoring two goals in the Champions League semi-final tie against Real Madrid and another in the final against Barcelona.

Morata has enjoyed a less productive campaign at Juventus this season following the summer arrivals of Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic. Yet, his sensational performance in the 4-2 defeat against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night (Juventus were winning 2-0 until he was substituted) has reopened the debate in Spain and it looks like most Real Madrid fans want the academy graduate back at the club.