Morata ‘has not changed’ stance on Manchester United move

Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata is understood to be still keen on a move to Manchester United despite the cooling of speculation over the weekend.

Marca claim the Spain forward “has not changed his mind” about linking up with Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford.

Morata, who was married in Venice over the weekend, “remains firm” on the idea of leaving the La Liga club, despite Florentino Perez denying he is looking to move and claiming no concrete bids have been made.

“No one at the club wants Morata to leave and I haven’t heard the player asking to leave,” Perez said this week.

Marca though insist that Morata wants out: “He remains firm in his idea of changing teams. The striker has not changed his mind and is still waiting for Manchester United to make a firm offer.”

Morata is believed to be United’s top strike target this summer after Jose Mourinho went cold on the idea of bringing Antoine Griezmann to the Premier League.

Perez is believed to have privately placed a £79million price tag on the head of the 24-year-old, but Cristiano Ronaldo’s revelations halted any deal going through.

Spanish outlet Don Balon claimed Perez had blocked Morata’s his move to Old Trafford with a delay of at least two weeks likely after Ronaldo said he wanted to leave Spain after being accused of avoiding £12.8million in tax.

Real coach Zinedine Zidane is believed to be still open to keeping the former Juve man, but if United come up with an asking price offer then the deal is still likely to go through.

United are believed to have lodged an opening offer of £52.4million, which was rejected before they submitted a second bid of around £60million.

Cadena Ser’s El Larguero show has reported agreement between both clubs and the player was “very close” with a five-year deal on the table for Morata.

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