Morata: Hopefully James and I will be team-mates next year

Alvaro Morata says he hopes to be team-mates with James Rodriguez next season as speculation continues to link the duo with a move away from Real Madrid.

Morata has been heavily linked with a possible transfer to Manchester United, with reports in England suggesting Jose Mourinho’s side will make an offer of £60million after seeing an initial bid rejected.

James has also been tipped for a move to Old Trafford but Inter and Arsenal have emerged as candidates for his signature.

The pair faced each other in Wednesday’s friendly clash between Spain and Colombia, with Morata heading in a late equaliser in Murcia to secure a 2-2 draw.

Speaking afterwards, Morata says he hopes to play alongside James once more in 2017-18 and suggested that he would like them both to stay with the European champions.

“Who knows, maybe we’ll be team-mates next year,” he told Tele 5. “Hopefully no [James will not leave], because I like him a lot. He’s a great player.”

Morata has scored eight goals for Spain since the start of 2016, a tally that only David Silva – who opened the scoring at Estadio Nueva Condomina – can match, and the 24-year-old says he is always delighted to represent the national team.

“You always want to play for Spain,” he said. “Unless I have a serious injury, I always want to come. We had it in the final few minutes, it got away from us but it’s a good sign because it could easily be a match in the quarters or semis of a World Cup and we responded. 

“We’re two national teams with great pride.”

8 – No other player has scored more goals for Spain than Alvaro Morata since the start of 2016 (eight, the same as David Silva). Instinct. pic.twitter.com/XMA2LKY5vo

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) June 7, 2017