MORATA NEEDS SUCCESS AT ALL COSTA
Fabregas warns £67m striker he’s facing heat to fill Diego void
ALVARO MORATA has been warned he is under enormous pressure as Diego Costa’s successor.
Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas pulled no punches as he said the £67million club-record signing faces a massive challenge to fill the striker’s shoes. Costa (left) was top-scorer at Chelsea, won two titles in three years, and was hugely popular in the dressing room at Stamford Bridge. But his bust-up with Blues boss Antonio Conte has seen him unceremoniously dumped. Chelsea have brought in Spain star Morata, 24, from Real Madrid, and Michy Batshuayi, 23, will also be expected to step up. But Fabregas says replacing Costa will be very difficult, especially as they are emerging, rather than established, talents. Fabregas said: “They are two young strikers, who will have to improve as quickly as possible, because they are our main forwards.
“When you are the main striker for Chelsea, you need to fight for all the competitions.
“As a team, if you are going to fight for all competitions, you need your strikers to score lots of goals.
“That’s why I’m saying they will be under pressure taking this challenge. When you’re the striker of a top team, this is what you live with – they will have to cope with it.
“I’ve always had a good understanding with Morata, to be honest. He’s always been a striker with a bit of everything. He has a lot of potential, the same as Michy, to improve. It’s up to them how far they want to go.”
Fabregas (top) also insisted that Batshuayi will get more games this season, as Chelsea face a much tougher task in trying to compete on four fronts.
And he said the more punishing schedule will make it tougher for Chelsea to retain their Premier League title.
He added: “With no Champions League last season, and given we went out early in the League Cup, we were all fit for most of the season. We had
basically every week off. The manager didn’t have to make a lot of changes.
“I paid for it, Michy paid for it, Willian paid for it. We had to keep working and wait for our chance. We all did. I think we were all at the disposal of the manager, when we were called upon.
“We did well, of course, and that gave him a lot of confidence and now Michy is having a full pre-season working with the team.
“The manager has said it is a long season, with lots of games, and he will need all the players to be ready for whenever he needs us.
“I’m sure we will have more opportunities ahead of us.”
Chelsea’s Spain defender Cesar Azpilicueta insists his international team-mate Morata, who spent two years at Juventus, can adapt quickly to the Premier League and has all the right attributes to succeed.
Azpilicueta said: “I know him from the national team and I know he is a very good addition for the club. He’s a young player, but with a lot of experience at the top level.
“It’s a great signing for us and I think he can bring a lot of his qualities into the team.
“It’s his first experience in the Premier League but he played in Italy, he played for Real Madrid, living with high pressure his whole life as a striker.
“He scored a lot of goals for the national team and in big competitions. He’s going to bring his qualities and he can do very well.
“He’s strong physically. He has good technique on the ball. He knows the manager. He knows the way we play. He will adapt quickly and, hopefully, he will score many goals.
“Hopefully, Alvaro can do it (replace Costa) well.
“This is going to be his first season in England, and I’m sure he will adapt and score many goals.”