Sarri’s striker admission could mean the end for Morata

The future of Alvaro Morata at Chelsea looks bleak after Maurizio Sarri admitted he prefers to play Eden Hazard as a false nine rather then deploy the Spaniard there.

Morata, who has scored seven goals on 20 appearances for the Blues this season, has not been included in Sarri’s squad for their last four Premier League games, with that streak set to continue against Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Despite a decent start to life at Stamford Bridge the goals have dried up somewhat for the 26-year-old Morata and Sarri’s latest comments suggest his time at the club may well be coming to an end.

Sarri has deployed Belgian ace Hazard as centre-forward in recent game and has scored three times in those four appearances.

Sarri said: “We need to be balanced on the pitch and be more solid.

“In the last matches I prefer this solution (Hazard at forward). For the future everything is open.

“I think that Alvaro is better in the box and better to attack spaces but I have to say Eden is improving as you saw in the last match with the second goal, he attacked very well the space.

“It’s different as Eden is better when he comes to play with the midfielders and opens spaces. He’s another way of playing.

“I want to see the physical condition of the players. We will decide after training.

“Alvaro’s potential is to be a very good player. He’s fit, yes.”

Morata has hit 22 goals in his 18 months since joining Chelsea from Real Madrid, but AC Milan and Barcelona have been linked with the striker, who could move on next month.

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