A Progress Report on Former Real Madrid Striker Alvaro Morata at Juventus

Alvaro Morata scored his eighth goal of the season in all competitions in Juventus’ 2-2 draw with Cesena last weekend in the face of renewed speculation that a return to Real Madrid could be on the cards.

The Italian club paid €20 million to sign him to a five-year contract last summer, but Madrid do have the option of buying him back for an undisclosed fee—reported by Javier Silles of AS as €30 million this summer or €35 million in two years' time.

Silles reported that Madrid have been keeping a close eye on Morata’s progress in Turin and recently contacted his representatives to congratulate him for his strong performances in recent matches.

Morata found himself behind the established partnership of Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente in the early part of the season, making just four starts in all competitions prior to Christmas.

He has, however, already made five since the turn of the year, largely in place of his compatriot Llorente. His greater mobility has added a little more dynamism to the Juventus attack, while he and Tevez seem to be developing a good partnership up front.

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The Juventus supporters also appear to have taken well to the young Spaniard. He was afforded a standing ovation after tracking a Milan player all the way back into the defensive third in their 3-1 victory at the Juventus Stadium earlier this month, and his goals have also been warmly welcomed.

All in all, the transfer is starting to look like a very good piece of business for the Bianconeri.

Ted Knutson of StatsBomb picked out Morata as the hottest young prospect in Europe last summer based on his statistical output, which included a highly impressive 1.29 non-penalty goals per 90 minutes.

That rate was a little inflated by Madrid’s dominance over the majority of their domestic opponents, and the fact that most of his minutes came as a substitute late into matches that were already won.

But per data from Soccerway (with additional author calculation), he has still posted a respectable 0.68 non-penalty goals per 90 minutes across all competitions since joining Juventus. Considering that he is still adjusting to the Italian game, that represents a very solid return.

“Carlos Tevez often tells me that Italy is like university for strikers,” Morata told La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Football Italia) earlier this month. “He’s right, as here you become a real player in every aspect. This is a unique opportunity for me.”

Despite the differences in language and playing style, Morata seems to have settled in well in Turin. The support of Llorente was important in his early months but so too was the trust that Juventus placed in him.

“I am truly in love with Juve and want to spend the majority of my career in the Bianconeri jersey,” he said in the aforementioned interview. “I wasn’t very happy at Madrid, as I didn’t have much room, but Juve immediately treated me like an important player.”

Indeed, he seems keen to continue his career in Italy even if Madrid do decide to trigger their buy-back clause. “Things are going well and I hope I can stay here,” he said in the wake of his goal in the draw with Cesena, as per AS.

Madrid fought hard to include the buy-back clause in the deal that took Morata to Juventus. They recognised that first-team football would be beneficial for his development and one need only look at the limited (550) minutes afforded to his replacement, Javier Hernandez, to know that he wouldn’t have gotten much of that at the Bernabeu.

The 22-year-old is clearly a highly talented striker. He has already been capped by Spain at international level and has also attracted strong interest from Arsenal, per B/R's Guillem Balague, in the past.

Whether in Turin or Madrid, his ascension is sure to continue next season.