Michy Batshuayi has had to endure a very difficult spell in London with new club Chelsea. Having arrived in the summer of 2016 from French side Olympique Marseille, the Belgian has found it hard to break into the playing XI at the Stamford Bridge under new boss Antonio Conte. As a result, he is growing disillusioned with life at Chelsea and is reportedly seeking a loan exit. (Evening Standard)
The 23-year old chose to join the Blues in a £33m move ahead of London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the summer and could very well be regretting it. The Lilywhites spent the summer chasing Batshuayi and Vincent Janssen to add a much-needed firepower at the top, but the Belgian ended up in West London while Janssen moved to White Hart Lane.
The strikers have both struggled in England, but for contrasting reasons though. The Spurs forward has found it extremely hard to get to terms with the way of playing in England and hasn’t had it easy bedding in Tottenham’s style of play. All of his four goals this season have come from penalty spots and as a result manager Mauricio Pochettino has played him on very few occasions.
On the other hand, Batshuayi hasn’t found it easy to find a way into the starting line-up. The Belgian has impressed greatly each time he has been called upon, but is yet to start a single game in the Premier League. And the main reason behind this has been Diego Costa’s hot streak. The Spaniard has been scoring for fun this season and has spearheaded Chelsea’s title bid, leaving the 23-year old to warm the benches.
Hence it makes one wonder, what could’ve been for Batshuayi had he opted to move to the Lane instead of the Bridge in the summer. The former Marseille man rejected a move to Spurs, because the North Londoners refused to match up to his £100,000-a-week wage demands, but could very well be ruing doing so.
Tottenham have played far more games this season, owing to their involvement in the European competitions, which would have meant that Batshuayi will have had plenty more opportunities coming his way, rather than getting an odd run-out here and there in the EFL Cup and the FA Cup.
And when you think of it, he seems a perfect fit into the way Pochettino likes his team to operate. He is quick, agile and has the intelligence to drift into wide positions when needed. Basically, he would have brought to the table, everything that Janssen hasn’t managed to.
Batshuayi has played a total of 587 minutes across all competitions this season, which is considerably less than what Janssen has played in the Premier League alone and has yet managed to outscore the Dutchman having netted seven strikes so far.
Reports are making the rounds that he wants to move away at the earliest, possibly on a temporary deal, with West Ham United pursuing an interest. However, he could very well have avoided all this had he chosen to move to the Lane in the first place itself.
