‘Morata signing a massive gamble for Chelsea’

Alvaro Morata joined Chelsea for a club-record £70 million and has not enjoyed the easiest of beginnings to his career at Stamford Bridge, with Conte himself admitting the striker has work to do.

Antonio Conte was concerned after Chelsea’s defeat against Arsenal, and he conceded new centre-forward Alvaro Morata is lacking in form.

Former England international and U21 manager Stuart Pierce went even further in saying that signing the Spaniard was a huge risk for the Blues, as they prepare to let Diego Costa go.

‘I think it’s a massive gamble by Chelsea. He’s [Costa] the catalyst that makes Hazard work behind him, to make Pedro work behind him’, Pearce said.

‘I hope Morata hits the ground running, but there’s always that thing in the back of your mind when players come to England to play, sometimes it takes a little while to settle in’, he added.

The former left-back revealed his predictions for Chelsea’s season: ‘Too many questions are coming out of Chelsea at the moment, a little bit of unease’, Pierce said. ‘I think last year they were fortunate, they had no real injuries through the season, I think they’ve got a bigger challenge this year to retain it’.

He ended by sentencing Chelsea’s Premier League title hopes: ‘I can’t see them retaining the title’.