Atletico Madrid will not listen to loan offers for Alvaro Morata this window, according to reports from Italy.
Atleti will only be willing to sell the Spanish striker on a permanent basis after two seasons on loan at Juventus, scoring 12 goals in 48 appearances.
The Spanish side are reportedly holding out for offers of around £29.5million (€35m), as they look to recoup some of the £31.5m they paid Chelsea for his services in 2020 – despite the £18m loan fee Diego Simeone’s side received from Juve in 2020.
The £29.5m the Colchoneros are quoting Juve is the same fee they would have had to part with to make Morata’s initial loan deal permanent, a fee they turned down in the hopes of negotiating a lower figure.
Morata has played for four of European football’s biggest teams in Real Madrid, Chelsea, Atletico and Juve, yet has never managed to cement his status as one of the game’s top marksmen.
And that journeyman reputation looks set to continue as Simeone looks to move him on this summer for good, following his two seasons in Turin.
He is believed to be one of Massimiliano Allegri’s primary targets to bolster his attack, and the player is keen to return to the Old Lady according to Italian outlet Tuttomercato.
Whilst under normal circumstances Simeone might allow Morata to leave on loan once more, LaLiga’s stringent economic rules dictate that a loan deal would continue to impact Atleti’s finances – a situation which Atleti are keen to avoid.
And with Atletico in Turin on Sunday August 7, talks between the two are set to intensify over Morata’s future, although it is unlikely that Juve will be willing to pay the price Atleti are demanding.
Morata’s current deal with the Colchoneros runs until 2024, and with the World Cup in Qatar approaching, he is looking to cement his place in the Spanish national teams by establishing regular club football.
The Chelsea flop has played 189 games for the Old Lady across two spells, scoring 59 times and assisting 39 more, and was particularly impressive last term for Allegri’s side.
Should the two clubs fail to come to an agreement over the Spaniard, Atalanta’s Luis Muriel is reportedly another target for Allegri to shore up his front line, with Dusan Vlahovic needing cover.