Barcelona consider Álvaro Morata as a replacement for Munir

Barcelona are contemplating Munir’s sale in the winter transfer window itself

Earlier, Barcelona were engaged in contract negotiations with Munir’s representatives and were trying to get him to sign a new deal. If these negotiations, he would leave on a free transfer. But now that they have failed, the club wants some remuneration for his departure.

With suitors like Sevilla and Atlético Madrid circling in, Barça want to make use of that fact by offloading him in the January transfer window. But that would require the signing of a replacement. Makeshift centre-forwards will not work, as the defeat to Levante has shown.

So, Éric Abidal is considering Chelsea forward Álvaro Morata as an option. The former Real Madrid star has failed to make an impact at Stamford Bridge since joining in a €66 million deal. In 70 appearances in all competitions, he has scored just 24 goals and provided 6 assists.

Morata has been especially poor this season, scoring 9 goals in 24 appearances. Chelsea sporting director Marina Granovskaia is looking to secure a loan deal for Morata, and Barcelona are one of the clubs interested in 26-year old Spain international.

Abidal has already contacted his Chelsea counterpart to express interest in a loan. The Blues are asking for €3 million as a fee, along with 50% of his wages, which amount to roughly €10 million for the entirety of his stay at the club.

If the sales of Denis Suárez and Munir go through, that would be more than enough to cover the signing of Álvaro Morata. But the club needs to retain the option to send him back to Chelsea at the end of the season if his performances are not up to the mark.

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As for Morata as a long-term option, he is pretty good. His style of play may not be suited to the Premier League, but it is certainly suited to the La Liga. He scored 15 goals and provided 5 assists in 31 appearances in domestic competitions in his last season at Real Madrid, which is impressive.

Morata is a very good finisher, and is an aerial threat from corners and set-pieces due to his height. He also drifts to the flanks sometimes, like Luis Suárez, and shares some other traits with ‘El Pistolero’, like the tendency to play the ball off the ground and attract fouls.

But Morata cannot adapt easily, as he is showing at Chelsea. A move to Barcelona would require a radical change in his style of play, and he will take some time to adapt. It is unsure whether he will be afforded that time after he joins, with fixture congestion in the coming months.

Nonetheless, Álvaro Morata is among the better options available to the club, and he should be near the top of the list for a short-term solution to the centre-forward problem. But it remains unknown whether the ex-Juventus marksman will remain content with a second-choice role.

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Also, the club needs to beat off interest from Atlético and Bayern Munich in order to sign him.

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