EXCLUSIVE: Alvaro Morata tells friends it is a DONE DEAL for him to join Manchester United

ALVARO MORATA has told friends his mind is made up to join Manchester United and that a deal “has been done” with Real Madrid.
Morata is believed to have broken off from his honeymoon this week for showdown talks with Real president Florentino Perez in a bid to break the stalemate in the move.

And those talks have helped to speed up negotiations between the two clubs with Real set to lower their £70million asking price and edge towards agreeing a compromise figure nearer United’s £60m valuation of the 24-year-old.

Morata, a boyhood Real fan and a graduate of their youth academy, has taken the decision to move to Old Trafford after Jose Mourinho made it clear he wanted him as his new No 9 to replace the injured and departed Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Mourinho has convinced Morata he is ideally suited for English football and can flourish on the big Old Trafford stage.




Morata also knows regular first-team football with United will enhance his dreams of being Spain’s No 9 at next summer’s World Cup.
His main competition in Julen Lopetegui’s squad is Diego Costa, whose future at Chelsea is uncertain after being told he is not part of Antonio Conte’s plans by text message.

And Morata will feel that linking back up with Mourinho at United will bolster his national team hopes as well as represent the best move at this stage of his career.

Born in Madrid, Morata was given his debut at Real by Mourinho in December 2010 and the pair have remained on good terms since.

He spent four seasons on the periphery at the Bernabeu, before leaving for Juventus in 2014 in search of more action.

After back-to-back Serie A titles in Turin, as well as two Coppa Italias and a Supercoppa Italiana, Real exercises their right to buy back Morata for £23m.

But last season Morata struggled to break into Zinedine Zidane’s side on a regular basis, despite a decent goal return of 15 from 26 games.
And now he looks set to test himself in the Premier League with United, after Mourinho switched his sights to Morata following Antoine Griezmann’s decision to stay at Real Madrid.

Mourinho was also keen on Romelu Lukaku, but has opted for Morata with Chelsea intent on re-signing their former player for a slightly more expensive £80m.

Meanwhile, United will dismiss any approach from Barcelona for Ander Herrera after reports in Spain claimed Barca will turn to the midfielder if they fail to prise No 1 target Marco Veratti away from Paris Saint-Germain.

Herrera is a key figure in Mourinho’s plans and is happy at Old Trafford.

And United will receive £6.25m of Michael Keane’s £25m transfer fee from Burnley to Everton.

They agreed a 25 per cent sell on clause when they sold Academy graduate Keane to the Clarets for £3m three years ago.

Source:www.express.co.uk