Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has claimed Chelsea’s new £70 million striker Alvaro Morata turned down the chance of a move to White Hart Lane ­because he feared he would be overshadowed by Harry Kane.

Morata joined the Premier League champions this summer from Real Madrid after Romelu Lukaku snubbed a return to Stamford Bridge and instead went to Manchester United, who were originally linked with the Spaniard.

But Pochettino says ­Morata, 24, was given the opportunity to become a Tottenham player two years ago but was afraid he would have to play second fiddle to Kane, who has been the Premier League’s leading goalscorer for the last two seasons.