Can Alvaro Morata hit the heights of Drogba and Costa?

Alvaro Morata’s resurgence under Maurizio Sarri continued on Sunday when the Spaniard picked up the Man of the Match award after scoring two goals against Crystal Palace.  The ex-Real Madrid man is looking rejuvenated under the new nicotine wrenching coach after scoring five league goals already this season. 

However, Morata's form is renowned for being inconsistent. He hit six goals in his opening six Premier League matches last season but then only scored five for the rest of the campaign. A question hangs over his head. Can he become the type of striker that Chelsea have always been so reliant on? 

A similar question mark was hung over his head at Madrid and Juventus but one fact has always been known. Morata is a striker that ticks every box. He has the stature and the technical ability to follow the footsteps of Drogba, Costa and, Crespo. So why isn’t he? 

He isn’t because there is one box that Morata fails to tick and Sarri mentioned it – “He is a little bit fragile from the mental point of view.” 

Mental weakness is a striker’s worst nightmare. To be a great striker you have to bathe in self-belief and have a killer instinct. You need to forget about every missed chance immediately and concentrate solely on the next one. 

This was the mentality of the Chelsea strikers of the past. Sarri’s style of play does not seek the dominant alpha male who the pride depends on. His high pressing 4-3-3 style demands a selfless, contributing and collaborating player to lead the line and that is what Alvaro Morata is. 

He was never going to fill the boots of Diego Costa in the ways that most Chelsea fans would have want him to. Morata is a silent striker, one we are must more seeing in the Premier League. The one to seek space rather than contact. 

Strikers are evolving, selfless strikers like Firmino, Jesus, Lacazette and now Callum Wilson are becoming dominant in the Premier League as the Carroll, Crouch and Costa era is over. 

While Morata may have the stature to emulate the former type of striker, his mentality makes him altruistic. Leaving him to be a goal-scoring machine that is waiting to be unleashed. 

If the Spaniard is going to reach that everlasting potential at Chelsea, it is not going to be the through the path already been set out by Drogba and Costa. He is trying to create his own path, as he is a player of different attributes. It is just whether he can overcome his mental delicacy and continue being synergetic which will allow him to consistently perform.