Antonio Conte has swapped the chaos of Diego Costa for a peaceful Chelsea life with Alvaro Morata

If Diego Costa ever questioned how ruthless Antonio Conte could be he needed only wait until this past summer. The Italian, fresh from his first Premier League title with Chelsea, chose to end Costa’s Stamford Bridge career not with a carefully planned dinner or a moment of celebration, but with a text message.

“There are ways of going about it. You don’t do it by text message,” he told the Daily Mail. “You should be honest and direct to someone’s face I was with the Spanish national team, alone in my room, when it came through. It was a shock to get it like that. I was showing it to my team-mates and they could not believe how he had done it.”

Conte has drawn comparisons to Sir Alex Ferguson in the past, and the former Manchester United boss often knew when it was time to move a player on. Sir Alex’s aim was not always perfect, (he is said to regret allowing Jaap Stam to leave for Lazio) but more often than not The Red Devils recovered and Old Trafford found a new hero to serenade.

READ MORE: Real Madrid ‘plotting’ Dele Alli swoop

READ MORE: Klopp makes sensational defending claim

READ MORE: FIFA lifts ban on poppies

It is likely that Conte made his decision about Costa long before he hit send on that infamous text. The Spanish striker made less than subtle overtures towards Atletico Madrid last year, telling the Spanish press that he did all he could to facilitate a move back to the club. Where once Conte may have given Costa a public dressing down he knew that the club needed his striking prowess for the upcoming season. Once that was assured he could focus on replacing him.

In his replacement – Alvaro Morata – the club have a striker that is a polar opposite in terms of personality. Morata is a ‘buenaco’ (essentially, a lovely bloke), in the words of Diego Mariño, a former teammate with Spain’s Under-21s. The striker spent the majority of his time at Real Madrid as a super-sub, an option from the bench, but performed his role admirably and without complaint. Eventually, his yearning for regular first team football pushed him out of the door and to Chelsea, where even there he was not first choice.

The hierarchy at Stamford Bridge pushed hard for Romelu Lukaku, but as second choice options go Morata is not a bad one. He may not have imposed himself during the recent goalless draw against Arsenal, but Morata has found the net in most of Chelsea’s other games, including the 4-0 demolition of Stoke City at the weekend.

That game at the Bet365 stadium represented a prime example of just why Conte was willing to pay so much for Morata. The two spent just days together at Juventus before Conte left to coach the Italian national team, but the 48-year-old still knew what he was getting. Morata is an intelligent footballer than can be a direct and aggressive runner when he needs to be. His second goal against Stoke showed his willingness to commit defenders and go at them when he feels the time is right.

Equally comfortable playing in teammates or laying the ball off, he was often appreciated at Real Madrid for his willingness to peel wide and cross it into the middle for the likes of Ronaldo or Karim Benzema. That selflessness appeals to Conte, and explains why to a degree why Morata had a higher rate of assists per 90 minutes than Costa in the league last season.

READ MORE: Bilic back in West Ham firing line

READ MORE: Jose ban would be a joke – Robson

READ MORE: Morata challenged by Chelsea boss

Morata would be the first to admit his shortcomings though. When he joined Chelsea there were concerns over his ability to handle the role of leading forward. The match against Stoke on Saturday represented just the 54th top-flight league start of his career, a consequence of being pigeonholed as a super sub at both Juventus and Real Madrid. As one might expect with a nice guy, he is not as aggressive as say a Costa.

Equally, his goals record has not always been a strength. Last season with Real Madrid was the first time in his career that he broke double figures in terms of top-flight league goals. Contrast that with Costa who has done it every year for the past four seasons and it’s easy to see why some Chelsea fans were worried at the signing, and why no one at Real Madrid was willing to push for Morata to be starting ahead of Ronaldo.

Morata’s career at Stamford Bridge has started brightly with his first six Premier League games producing six goals. That kind of return, while not as strong as the eight goals Costa produced in his first six league games, will serve as validation for Conte. The Italian has described Morata as ‘the complete player’ and joked he is the type of person that you would allow your daughter to marry.

The latter compliment gives a subtle indication to the type of person Conte believes Morata and perhaps why he signed him. The Spaniard was desperate to earn that role as a first choice striker, and in return he offers Conte not only goals on the pitch, but also a peaceful life away from it.