Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata has been heavily criticised by former Premier League stars Rio Ferdinand, Chris Sutton, and Richard Dunne after his lacklustre performance during his sides 2-0 Community Shield defeat to Manchester City yesterday.
Morata joined Chelsea for a club record fee of £58 million from Real Madrid last summer and despite starting his Blues career off in excellent fashion, he struggled for form and fitness the longer the season went on, finishing his first campaign in English football with 15 goals in 48 appearances.
Many observers expected the Spain international to depart Stamford Bridge this summer, but the 25-year-old attacker recently revealed that he has spoken to new Blues boss Maurizio Sarri and remains determined to succeed in West London.
However, the BT Sport Punditry panel were less than complimentary about his performance yesterday at Wembley and questioned whether he is the right man to lead the line for the five-time Premier League Champions.
“Sarri has hung his hat on Morata, and he just looked short of confidence again today,” Sutton stated on BT Sport after the game.
“This is where you need your senior players to stand up and make a statement, and he went missing.
Former Manchester City defender Richard Dunne then pulled no punches when describing the Spaniards showing: “Sarri needs a centre-forward, someone he can rely on up front. I don’t see that in Morata, I don’t see the desire to be a team player.
“I know the manager’s only had two weeks, but there were some players in that team that looked like they didn’t want to be there. Or they weren’t fit enough.
“I think you can change the tactics or make the team work harder, but actual individuals?
“I’m talking specifically about Morata. He was a disgrace up front, he was awful. They’ll have to spend an awful lot of money over the next week.
Finally former Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand finished off the slating by saying: “He didn’t seem to have the heart for it, as if he was not too interested.
“From a centre-half’s point of view he does not scare you. Unless you get the ball wide, he is not effective.”
