Emerging reports revealed that Alvaro Morata has been handed the No9 shirt at Chelsea ahead of the 2017/2018 English Premier League Season. The Club made the disclosure on its website and Twitter handle, @ChelseaFC on Monday. According to the Club, "Alvaro Morata will wear the Chelsea no.9 shirt.
The first chance for our new striker, who signed at the end of last week, to have the number on his back in a match will be tomorrow (Tuesday) in Singapore where Antonio Conte has said he expects the player to feature against Bayern Munich."
The statement added that "This squad number announcement follows on from other new signings Willy Caballero who has been given no.1, Antonio Rudiger who is no.2 and Tiemoue Bakayoko who is no.14."
The Spanish striker had completed his Club record-breaking transfer from Real Madrid last week after being subjected to medical in London. According to the statement, Morata may feature in Tomorrow's friendly match against Bayern Munich.
Meanwhile, his shirt number has continued to elicit reactions, with many commentators claiming that the No9 shirt could put the new player under intense pressure.
Apart from Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink who scored 70 league goals wearing that shirt number before his departure in 2004, other players including Hernan Crespo, Khalid Boularouz, Franco Di Santos, Falcao and Torres all struggled wearing the shirt.
