Morata: I felt indebted to Conte

Livescore.com

The former Real Madrid hitman had no idea that the Blues were interested in bringing him to Stamford Bridge, but admitted to having received a firm offer from Manchester United.

"I had various offers this summer, not only Chelsea and Manchester United but also from different leagues," Morata told the Daily Mail. "It was a good situation for me. The most important and best conversation I had was with Conte, he wanted me to come here.

"At the start of the summer, I didn't know that Chelsea were interested in me. I thought they were in for a different player, maybe Lukaku or maybe someone else, I don't know. I didn't think the option of Chelsea was open.

"But I spoke with Conte several times - and not only this summer. I felt in debt to him. He signed me for Juventus but left very quickly to manage Italy," Morata added, referring to his 2014/15 loan move to the Italian champions.

"I always wanted to play for him after that," he continued. "It was only two months with him but it felt like I'd known him forever. When I knew he wanted me this summer, I didn't think twice. I did everything I could to make the move happen."

The striker went on to reveal that he had almost joined Chelsea ahead of last season.

"Last summer it was close," he said. "Cesar Azpilicueta was a bit annoyed because he had already started house-hunting for me. We'd even got estate agents on board. This time Cesar has sorted everything.

"When I spoke to Conte last summer, I said 'If I'm going to leave Real Madrid, it will only be for Chelsea'.

"I remember I was with my wife after hearing him out and I said 'Chelsea are going to win the league this season.' And that's exactly what happened. Now we need to repeat it."