#49 Alvaro Morata
During his time with Atletico Madrid’s juniors, Morata was regularly trained to play as a defender, but you wouldn’t believe it if you saw the prolific Spaniard in action. The 24-year-old forward was very much in the shadows of his French counterpart Karim Benzema when at Real, but flourished during his time in Turin.
Zinedine Zidane, the current Real boss, stated that "[Morata] has grown a lot in Italy… he did very well at Juventus, and it’s normal that they still want to keep him."
Throughout his two seasons with the Old Lady, Morata created 47 chances, scoring 24 goals in all competitions. For many though it was his performances in the Champions League with a side renowned for its defensive prowess rather than its attacking abilities which began to mark out Morata as one of the most improved strikers in world football.
His refusal to celebrate when scoring against former club Real Madrid captured the hearts of many, while his regular turnouts for the Spanish national team reiterate that he is an experienced head on young shoulders.
Morata is more than competent in possession, able to draw fouls from his opponents and suited to playing counter-attacking football which so many sides are looking to adopt.
