Gianfranco Zola: Chelsea should sign Andrea Belotti as Alvaro Morata lacks "presence" - 7M sport

Gianfranco Zola: Chelsea should sign Andrea Belotti as Alvaro Morata lacks "presence"



Posted Wednesday, July 12, 2017 by squawka.com

Gianfranco Zola: Chelsea should sign Andrea Belotti as Alvaro Morata lacks

Chelsea have been urged to sign Andrea Belotti, rather than Alvaro Morata, by Blues icon Gianfranco Zola.

The Premier League champions were widely reported to have matched Manchester United's £75m bid for Romelu Lukaku last week, but ultimately missed out on the Belgium international.

Antonio Conte is now left chasing his secondary targets to replace Diego Costa, after informing the fiery centre-forward by text message that he is no longer needed at Stamford Bridge.

Morata has been heavily linked with a switch to west London, having started only 14 Liga games for Real Madrid last season.

However, former Italy striker Zola believes Chelsea should move for compatriot Belotti, who has a €100m release clause for foreign clubs.

The 23-year-old enjoyed a superb 2016/17, narrowly finishing in third place in Serie A's Golden Boot race, with 26 goals, while assisting a further seven.

Zola, who recently endured an awful stint as Birmingham City manager, told talkSPORT: "To be honest, I was thinking Chelsea should go for Andrea Belotti in Italy."

"I thought that considering the type of qualities Costa has, that Belotti was the perfect fit. Morata is a little bit different, he's more of a finesse player."

"He hasn't got the presence of a player like Costa in the box. He's a different player, he brings other qualities. Costa was very influential last season and [finding a like-for-like replacement] will be the key."



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