Official: Alvaro Morata returns to Juventus on loan deal

Juventus confirmed the re-signing of Alvaro Morata on a season-long loan deal from Atletico Madrid.

Morata’s departure from Atletico Madrid was somewhat of a surprise considering Diego Simeone always rated him, having targeted him for several seasons prior to his arrival in January 2019.

The Spanish striker was inconsistent for much of his stay with the Colchoneros, though. He had a brief period of good form last season, which saw him bag six goals in nine league games, before going cold again. Therefore, he gradually fell out of favor under Simeone.

Despite finishing at Atletico’s top-scorer in 2019/20, Diego Costa’s return from injury demoted Morata.

‘El Cholo’ benched him for key games, including the club’s Champions League quarter-final defeat to RB Leipzig last month, and has openly pursued a new striker this summer; with Luis Suarez expected to arrive shortly.

✍ OFFICIAL | @AlvaroMorata has returned home! ⚪⚫

➡️https://t.co/2VoUGJxmpb

#MoreMorata #LiveAhead pic.twitter.com/2h28s9s4SG

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) September 22, 2020

Now Morata has returned to Juventus, who are coached by his former teammate Andrea Pirlo. The pair linked-up well during their first stint together in Turin during 2014/15 and will do so again for this season.

Juve, who had originally targeted Suarez themselves, have signed the former Chelsea man on a €10m loan deal. They can extend it for another 12 months at the end of the season, or sign him permanently for a pre-agreed fee of €45m.

A statement on the club’s website read: “Juventus Football Club S.p.A. announces that an agreement with Atletico de Madrid for the temporary acquisition, until the end of 2020/2021 sportive season, of the registration rights of the player Alvaro Morata has been finalized for consideration of € 10 million, to be paid during the current financial year.”

Morata had an impressive first spell with the Bianconeri, scoring 27 goals in 93 games between 2014 and 2016. He also won back-to-back Serie A and Coppa Italia titles.