When Alvaro Morata and Romelu Lukaku joined Chelsea and Manchester United respectively last summer, it looked as if the then reigning champions had secured the better end of the bargain.

However, while Lukaku still has his justified critics, he banged in goals for fun in his debut season at Old Trafford while Morata struggled to carry the burden as Chelsea toiled and eventually finished in a Europa League spot.

It seems as if the Spaniard was overwhelmed by the responsibility of being his side's main striker for the first time ever and the end result was being excluded from his country's 23-man World Cup squad for this summer's showpiece in Russia.

Reports in Bild, via TalkSPORT suggest that Morata could be set to exit Stamford Bridge after just one season, in a £45m move to Borussia Dortmund - but what would be the consequences of that? We've taken a closer look...

Gonzalo Higuain comes in to replace him

gonzalo higuain claps the juventus fans

With Maurizio Sarri yet again reportedly in pole position to be the new man in the Chelsea hotseat, it makes sense that he would want to reunite with Higuain in West London.

The Argentine broke the Serie A record for goals in a single season in the pair's sole campaign together in Naples so Sarri clearly knows how to get the best from the hitman, whose confidence can be fragile at times.

Tammy Abraham, Olivier Giroud and Michy Batshuayi would still remain at the Bridge if Morata left but a new blockbuster centre-forward would surely be top of Sarri's agenda and Higuain is the perfect fit.

Batshuayi remains at Chelsea

Batshuayi spent the latter part of last season on loan with Dortmund but if the German outfit were able to procure his current Blues striking rival, their interest in the Belgian international would surely cool.

There would also obviously be a greater need for Sarri to keep Batshuayi as cover because losing two international strikers in the same transfer window is generally not best practice.

Although Sarri would have his eye on an elite hitman, a new manager and the removal of the previous first-choice striker would surely convince the former Marseille man that he has a real chance of becoming the top dog among the Chelsea strikers.

Eden Hazard goes up a level

 

Hazard will never be a truly prolific goalscorer in the same way that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are - although he has the talent - because he loves laying on team-mates more than he enjoys finding the net himself.

That necessitates Chelsea to have a prolific goalscorer as their sole striker and unfortunately, Morata hasn't been able to cut the mustard.

With a different man spearheading the attack, Hazard could be reinvigorated - and primarily, convinced to stay - prompting him to move even closer to the stratospheric levels set by Messi and Ronaldo.

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