Alvaro Morata admits he must repay the faith placed in him by Antonio Conte after Chelsea forked out £70m to sign 'a Real Madrid substitute'
- Chelsea made Alvaro Morata their record signing in a £70.6m deal this summer
- Morata had limited game time at Real Madrid and was often left on the bench
- But the striker revealed Antonio Conte has backed him to do well at Chelsea
- The Spain forward insists he will toughen up to succeed in the Premier League
Spanish striker Alvaro Morata has admitted he needs to get tough if he is to take his chance at Chelsea and repay the faith placed in him by Antonio Conte.
The former Real Madrid forward, who looks set to face Italy on Friday, told El Pais: 'I’m now with a team that have made a massive financial commitment for a Real Madrid substitute.
'That is the reality of the situation. They have given me everything. Conte is with me to the death, the supporters are with me to the death, the club is with me to the death that is why I have to make a big impact and really make my presence felt.
Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata wants to repay the faith placed in him by boss Antonio Conte
Morata became Chelsea's record signing after his £70.6m move from Real madrid this summer
‘Destiny has given me this chance. It’s true that I have played some very good games and I’ve won points and helped win leagues but you don’t expect to a player to score important goals or put in important performances once in a while. Football is all about consistency.’
Morata was never given more than four straight starts in the first team at Real Madrid and in his time at Juventus he was overlooked by Massimiliano Allegri as soon as the club realised he was going back to Real Madrid who had a buy-back option.
Now he feels this is his chance but he will have to toughen up fast to fill Diego Costa’s boots and make sure Chelsea never regret their huge investment.
Morata wants to repay the investment made when Chelsea bought 'a Real Madrid substitute'
He started brightly at Juventus but the club lost interest when they realised he may move back
Speaking at Spain’s Las Rozas training ground on the outskirts of Madrid, Morata said: ‘The centre-forward [at Chelsea] has to always be the point of reference to help his team-mates.
'You have to battle with the centre-backs and physically they are a lot stronger than in any other league. It’s true that they are also tactically less organised and that gives you the opportunity to catch them out but it’s another type of football.
'In Spain you have the chance to think and hold the ball up. Here if you hold on to the ball for too long they have already given you a couple of kicks.'
If he starts against Italy on Firday there might be a few kicks from a familiar foe. Giorgio Chiellini, who was also a team-mate at Juventus, has been a thorn in Morata’s side before. Asked about playing against him he added: ‘It’s like they put you in a cage with a gorilla and you have to steal its food.’
Morata could face Giorgio Chiellini on Friday, who he describes as a 'gorilla' of a defender
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