Recent reports have claimed that Real Madrid will exercise their buy-back clause for former player Alvaro Morata. Morata departed Madrid for Juventus just two years ago and the cost to bring the 23-year-old back to his former club would be £22 million.  Los Blancos, however, do not have any intention of actually keeping Morata with the club if they trigger the buy-back clause.  It is thought that Madrid could potentially make up to £15 million in opting to resell Morata to another club.

The aforementioned report (AS, Daily Mirror) is suggesting that both Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain are willing to pay Madrid up to £38 million for Morata and double the player’s current salary with Juventus.  The steep price tag is roughly over £3 million more than what the Gunners paid Barcelona for Alexis Sanchez’s services in the summer of 2014.

SEE MORE: Arsenal confirm signing of Granit Xhaka deal

Morata is not a superstar such as Sanchez, nor is he currently a goal-scoring machine.  There is, however, the thought that the center forward has the potential to become both in the near future.  Part of this assumption is the fact that he is still just 23-years-old, and the other aspect is the amount of playing time that Morata has received on the pitch during the 2015/16 season.  The striker played second fiddle to both Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic, and only received 16 starts in Serie A play.  Although his seven league goals are not exactly mind-blowing, Morata netted these goals in just about 1,400 total Serie A minutes on the pitch.

While the Spain international does not supply Juventus with a plethora of goals, he does provide for the team in other areas.  When looking at his passing statistics compared to other strikers, that would garner a somewhat similar transfer fee, Morata certainly holds his own on the pitch.

Nevertheless, a player that could potentially cost a club €38 million should be practically guaranteed at least 25-30 total goals on the season.  Calculating his 2015/16 Serie A strike rate into 35 league matches would put Morata at 14.7 goals per season.  Even assuming he would play a full 38 matches, his goal output would be at about 16 during league play. Arsenal’s current number one center forward, Olivier Giroud, netted exactly 16 Premier League goals during the 2015/16 campaign.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has helped turn a former Juventus player into a world-class center forward before. Thierry Henry made the switch from Turin to London in 1999.  It is certainly possible for Morata to make the transition into a real force up front for the Gunners; however, for the price currently being reported, it would be a gamble for the north London outfit.