Alvaro Morata has sensationally thrown his long-term future at Chelsea into doubt after revealing he does not intend to stay in London for very long.
Antonio Conte’s side signed Morata from Real Madrid in a club-record £60m over the summer and the Spain international has hit the ground running for the defending Premier League champions.
The 25-year-old spent most of the summer gearing up for a move to Manchester United before Jose Mourinho opted against reuniting with the Spaniard in order to link up with Romelu Lukaku for the second time.
However, now Morata has raised doubts over his intentions at Chelsea after admitting he does not enjoy the stress of living in London and wishes he stayed in Italy.
“I live in downtown Chelsea,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport, via The Daily Telegraph. “What fascinates me about London is its multi-ethnicity, the coexistence of cultures and religions, but I do not see myself living here for very long. It’s too big, too much stress, too much of a metropolis.
“The disappointment [of leaving Juventus] was enormous, I found myself back to the starting point. They [Real Madrid] treated me like the guy I was before the two Italian seasons.
"Italy for a Spaniard is the best country to live. You have everything: beauty, history, art, cooking, fashion. I would never have left Italy and Juve.”
Morata has played a direct hand in nine goals in as many Premier League appearances this season (six goals, three assists), but is now without a goal in all competitions in five appearances.
The Chelsea No.9 returns to Italy on Tuesday night for the first time since March when he was on the scoresheet in Madrid’s 3-1 win over Napoli in the Champions League.
Morata will be looking to improve his own record against Roma when he leads the line for Conte’s side having failed to score in his five previous appearances against the Giallorossi.
