Lay off master Morata

ANTONIO CONTE has stoked up his war of words with Mauricio Pochettino over Chelsea’s £70m new boy Alvaro Morata.

Pochettino claimed Morata (above) didn’t fancy signing for Tottenham because he feared playing second fiddle to Harry Kane.

But Conte hit back last night, claiming the former Real Madrid star, 24, is a match for any hitman on the planet.

And he told the Spurs boss to wait until the end of the season and see if he still thinks Kane is better.

Conte said: “Morata is a really good player. He can compete with every striker in the world.

“He is a young player and my task is to help him improve and to exploit his quality.

“Is he on the same level as Kane? I can’t reply to this question because Kane played in

the English league and Morata played in the Spanish and Italian leagues. After this season, I can reply to you in the right way.”

Morata has been brought in to replace Diego Costa whose lawyer this week accused Conte of trying to force the Spain striker out by text message in June.

But Conte said: “It’s very simple, the situation. I repeat what I said in the past. The player, his agent and the club knew very well the future of the player in the summer.

“They knew very well. For sure I don’t understand why lawyers are getting involved. I don’t understand this. The situation is very clear.”

A Chelsea spokesman added: “The lawyer’s argument that Antonio as a coach has forced the player out by text message in June is just nonsense.

“The decision on Diego was made back in January. The player and his agent knew the decision, clearly the lawyer has not been well informed.”