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Report: Atletico preparing Morata bid following Chelsea's ultimatum

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Atletico Madrid are lining up an offer to sign Alvaro Morata on a permanent basis after Chelsea threatened to recall the striker from his loan spell, according to The Telegraph's Matt Law.

Morata, 26, moved to the Spanish club in January on an 18-month loan deal, but Law reported last week that the Blues are prepared to sever that agreement unless Atleti trigger the £50-million permanent clause written into his temporary paperwork.

Chelsea are able to recall Morata per the terms included in his loan contract.

Atletico Madrid recently decimated their club-record fee with the €126-million signing of Joao Felix from Benfica, but Antoine Griezmann is widely expected to join Barcelona this summer. Ex-Chelsea marksman Diego Costa could also leave and further deplete the Wanda Metropolitano strikeforce after a disappointing season in the Spanish capital.

Chelsea, meanwhile, may benefit from an extra body in attack. They didn't exercise the option to retain Gonzalo Higuain after his loan from Juventus, so only 32-year-old Olivier Giroud, Michy Batshuayi, and Tammy Abraham remain as the primary options to spearhead Frank Lampard's frontline.

Morata was brought to Stamford Bridge for £57 million in the summer of 2017 but scored a modest 16 goals over 47 Premier League appearances before he was shifted to Atletico. He netted six times in 15 outings over the second half of the 2018-19 La Liga campaign.

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