Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola has urged the club to sign Torino talisman Andrea Belotti this summer instead of pursuing Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata.
This follows up from the story in the Spanish newspaper AS which reported that the Premier League champions were preparing to make a £70million bid for Morata after missing out on signing Romelu Lukaku who joined Manchester United.
The Blues will need to add another striker to the squad next season as the Guardian recently reported that talisman Diego Costa is set to leave Stamford Bridge this summer with the Spain international set to miss the start of pre-season.
Speaking to the Alan Brazil Breakfast Show on TalkSPORT on Tuesday (July 11, 6am), Zola believes that Belotti would be the right fit to replace Costa’s goals at the club next season.
“To be honest, I was thinking Chelsea should go for Andrea Belotti in Italy,” he said.
“I thought that considering the type of qualities Costa has, that Belotti was the perfect fit.
“Morata is a little bit different, he’s more of a finesse player. He hasn’t got the presence of a player like Costa in the box. He’s a different player, he brings other qualities.”
Since securing a permanent move to Serie A side Torino two years ago, Belotti was been one of the best performers at the club.
The 23-year-old enjoyed his best campaign in terms of numbers last season, contributing with 26 goals and eight assists in all competitions.
The striker’s fantastic performances saw him make his international debut with the Italy national team last year and he has demonstrated that he is capable of scoring on the big stage, notching up four goals in nine appearances for his country.