Gianfranco Zola has said that he has been shocked by the consistency and physical qualities that Alvaro Morata has shown for the Blues this season, adding that he considers the 25-year-old to be one of the world’s most skilful strikers.
“I’ve always said he’s a very talented player, one of the most skilful with his feet in his position in the world, but what he’s proving in this league is being strong, being determined. Honestly I didn’t know he had that and it’s good for him, it’s good for Chelsea and hopefully he can continue as he has.”
“He is a player who has impressed me very much since the first day I saw him,” Zola added. “He’s grown so much in stature and he’s probably impressed me the most [among the new signings at Chelsea].”
Chelsea legend Roberto Di Matteo believes the added burden of European commitments has complicated things for Conte this season, but insisted that the club still have the quality to achieve their targets as long as they avoid any further injuries to key players.
“There’s certainly the added pressure of the European competitions,” he said. “Last season they had a whole week to prepare each game in the Premier League, which certainly helped. Also you don’t spend as much energy as you do this season.
“But also the competitors [for the title] in the Premier League have improved. They have signed some very good players. It’s still early days to say who’s going to win it but certainly there seems like one team that is [surging] ahead and the others have to play a bit of catch-up.
“When you’re involved in all the competitions you obviously need a bit of depth. There have been some discussions about that over the summer [at Chelsea]. So far it looks pretty OK to me — I’m not sure if the manager feels he has enough depth, but the quality is there. If [Chelsea] don’t have too many injuries and suspensions, I think the team will be strong enough.”
Zola added: “There’s still a long way [to go]. In a league like the English one I think December is a crucial month where there are a lot of games.
“This year the teams involved in the Champions League having to deal with two competitions, now they are OK, but further along in the season I think they will have a few problems. I think injuries and the form of key players will play a big part. There’s still a long way to go and no one has to feel out of [contention].”
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