Morata would be happy to stay at Chelsea for ten years as London casts a spell

ROMA V CHELSEA

Alvaro Morata has insisted he is committed to Chelsea and is happy in London.

Morata, pictured right, was signed for £58 million from Real Madrid in the summer as direct replacement for Diego Costa, the striker who forced through a return to Atletico after never settling in three years at Chelsea.

The 25-year-old Spain striker, who had a spell at Juventus, claimed comments reported in an interview with Gazetta dello Sport yesterday in which he suggested he was not content in the English capital were “a problem of understanding”.

Ahead of tonight’s Champions League tie with Roma, Morata said: “If Chelsea propose me ten years (contract), probably I sign it.

“I’m very happy in this club, I’m very happy with the city, I’m very happy with everything in London.

“I really like London. And if I do well and improve, probably I can stay here more than five years.

“But I need to score many goals, otherwise Chelsea will buy another player. It’s normal.”

Morata is living in the same west London building which was home to Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte last season, the Blues boss said.

But while Conte admitted to challenging times living apart from his family – his wife Elisabetta and daughter Vittoria have now joined him in Surrey, near Chelsea’s Cobham training base – the striker is accompanied by his wife.

Morata was asked to clarify remarks in the Italian sportspaper interview in which he described London as “stressful”. He said: “I really like London now. But probably in future, when I need to take my children to school, when I finish my career, I prefer to go back to my country. It’s normal.

“Now I’m very happy. When I say it’s a stressful city, I’m talking only about the traffic and a lot of people.

“I say too it’s an incredible city, with many religions and many kinds of different people and I really enjoy London.”

Conte will assess N’golo Kante’s readiness to return from a hamstring problem after the midfielder’s return to training.

The Blues boss says he is thinking only of Roma and not looking ahead to Sunday’s Premier League contest with Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United.

Conte said: “We have to give all of ourselves to get a good result, which will be important [tonight].”