More than an heir: Morata proving to be Chelsea's most complete striker

If Diego Costa is to be regarded as entirely irredeemable by the Chelsea faithful, then Alvaro Morata's hat-trick helped soothe that broken heart. The young heir is proving himself the rose atop the stem of prickly thorns left by his predecessor - perhaps, the sweetest smelling rose of all.

There is the spark of an idea now that Morata might be Chelsea's most complete striker, at least in the era defined by Roman Abramovich's purchase of the club. How he compares to the likes of Bobby Tambling, Kerry Dixon, and Roy Bentley is a story for another day, but in a 4-0 win at Stoke City, and in the five tilts before it, Morata has done well to show the skills of his peers.

Before Saturday, Morata's body of work was limited to three headed goals that would make the poacher's spirit of Didier Drogba rather proud. In facing criticism for it, Morata joked he hoped to soon use his feet, and, a scoreless affair against Arsenal aside, the Spain international did just that against Stoke.

But it is the manner by which he found the back of the net that lends credence to the case: the first, a smart read to break the line, followed by a cool finish; the second, an incredible burst of pace before an impossible, acute-angled shot; the last, a tap-in borne of vision and foresight. You'd be right to call upon the memory of Fernando Torres, Costa, and Drogba in each goal, respectively.

It's Chelsea's first hat-trick since Costa's three-goal performance against Swansea in September 2014. While it's easy to point out that Stoke was severely depleted at the back, it would be unfair to deny Morata his due. The young man is showing versatility in his scoring range. It's not an unprecedented trait among Chelsea's striker ranks: Torres scored headers, Drogba smacked home long-range rockets, and Costa pulled off nifty bits of footwork. But Morata offers more hold-up play and longevity than Torres, more speed and mobility than Drogba, and more composure and technique than Costa. To the last point, Morata is also a much-needed breath of fresh air.

Costa's ability to provoke opponents made him unlikable at best to those who didn't call Chelsea their club. In the end, Costa's combative spirit saw his time at Chelsea cut short as he and manager Antonio Conte butted heads. But life moves on and Morata, as Conte delightfully puts it, is the type of person a father would love to marry his daughter. At 24 years old, he's younger than Costa (25), Drogba (26), and Torres (27) were when they joined Chelsea.

"(Morata's) a complete player," Conte said, as quoted by Jason Burt of the Telegraph. "Also he has a lot of room to improve in every situation, tactical, physical, technical aspect. He's very committed (and) his behaviour is always fantastic."

Related: How should Chelsea fans remember divisive striker Diego Costa?

There are questions, still, of Morata's ability to be a difference-maker in big moments like the three men who stood where he now stands; that Morata has never led an attacking line as the clear-cut striker means his experience is limited. He couldn't outplay his competition at Juventus or Real Madrid.

But Morata is not a role-playing striker; he's the point of attack, and despite finding the back of the net regularly enough at the Santiago Bernabeu, he didn't do the sort of positional dirty work that makes Karim Benzema such an asset at the club. As Benzema explains, "A striker is not just goals." And it's true - at Real Madrid, half of the Frenchman's work is drawing open space for teammates like Cristiano Ronaldo to exploit.

Evidently, Real Madrid didn't see in Morata the sort of player it needed for its specific system. Conte has certainly managed to get the most out of Morata by building the team around his skill-set. Motivated by being the main man at long last, Morata's stock is rising. By season's end, perhaps Diego Costa will be the one compared to him.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)