Former Chelsea striker Hernan Crespo has backed Alvaro Morata in spite of the Spaniard’s struggles to find the back of the net during recent months.
Morata arrived at the Blues during the summer transfer window from Spanish giants Real Madrid. He was expected to help the club to fight to retain the Premier League crown they won in 2016/17 following the departure of Diego Costa, who returned to Atletico Madrid.
While Morata showed promising early form, he has struggled to find the back of the net since the start of 2018 and this has coincided with Chelsea’s drop in form. During the first half of the season, the Blues looked as if they would comfortably finish in the top four. However, they have ended the season in fifth place, missing out on the Champions League for the second time during the past three seasons.
Crespo will be able to relate to Morata’s situation and the reception he’s been receiving from the fans and public. The former Argentina international himself arrived at Chelsea with heavy expectations and failed to deliver.
It will be interesting to see what happens to Morata this summer. If one thing is certain, there will be massive changes at the club, especially after their failure to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition.
Crespo has however lent his support to the misfiring striker, stating: “I think he is a great player, he is a young player who has a lot of trophies already. However, you need to be patient.
“He has showed he is a very good striker, but normally when you play in a big team it is difficult to be at a high level for the whole year. In the past, the same thing happened at Juventus, but that is because he is young.
“He can be the future of Chelsea but it depends on him. It is important to see if he is happy. If he is happy at Chelsea and he can show his best in this team then it would be great for everyone, but if he wants to come back to Juventus and make another experience then we will see.
“It is different than my experience at Chelsea because I was older than him. I had already been past my best level. The Premier League at that time wasn’t the best in the world. Now it is. At that time, when I played, Serie A was actually the best. Then, AC Milan called me, the second time was Inter.
“It was difficult for me to adapt that way around. If you want me to offer my personal opinion, I say stay at Chelsea! Show your best there because you play in the best league in the world. Chelsea can win the league again. They have big decisions to make, to go with Conte or not.
“For the players, though, everything is clear for their futures, it is down to them to choose. I think he should stay and that’s regardless of the manager, but you never know, whoever the manager is may have other ideas.”
