Alvaro Morata has insisted that leaving Chelsea was “never a thought” for him this summer, ESPN reports.
Juventus and AC Milan were both linked with moves to bring Morata back to Serie A, after a Premier League campaign that saw him score just 11 goals in 30 appearances.
The striker fuelled the speculation by spending much of his summer in Italy, being pictured with his agent and Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici in Milan, but none of his suitors were willing or able to meet Chelsea’s valuation.
After scoring his first goal of the new season in Chelsea’s 3-2 win over Arsenal on Saturday, Morata revealed that he is in the process of buying a house near the club’s Cobham training ground and is committed to proving his doubters wrong.
“There was never a thought for me to leave,” Morata said.
“For me, it’s easy. I could have gone back to Spain or Italy, all the people believe in me there but I want to change all the things here. I want to, not for all the haters, but for me and for Chelsea.
“I am looking forward to buying a house and I can’t wait for the babies to grow up to put them into school. I am very happy and it’s just the beginning of the new season. Why would I not be happy? I want to change all the thinking from the people who say I’m not.
“It’s the only reason I stay here, otherwise if Chelsea said you are not in our plans, I move.”
Chelsea paid £58million to sign Morata from Real Madrid in the summer of 2017.
