Very few people at present can recall that Belgian Michy Batshuayi was actually Antonio Conte's first signing after the Italian's appointment prior to the Euro's in 2016. Since making the €39m move to Chelsea, the Batsman has hardly seen game time as he has struggled to upsurge Diego Costa and now Alvaro Morata. On Sunday in the FA Cup against Newcastle, Batshuayi scored a brace in a game which was his fourth start in three weeks; making him two goals behind Chelsea's top scorers Eden Hazard and Alvaro Morata.
Unlike the duo mentioned above , Batshuayi has flattered to impress often failing to seize the opportunity when given the chance (woeful in Carabao Cup semi-final agaibst Arsenal last week), despite scoring the winning goal that won Chelsea the EPL last season (against West Brom). Having scored 26 goals in 62 Ligue 1 games in two years, Batshuayi arrived Chelsea with very high expectations and with the Blue fans elated having seen him dazzle for Belgium at the Euro's in the summer.
Fast-forward to this winter and Batshuayi might be on his way to Sevilla on a six month deal with Chelsea linked with about £25m rated Edin Dzeko of Roma (31-year-old) who will be 32 in March. So where did it all go wrong for Batshuayi?
First and foremost, despite being a decent striker at a young age (24), the Belgian isn't an ideal Conte central striker. This is because Conte favours playing a physical , tall striker who is the focal point of his attack rather than part of an attack . Conte also favours a striker who can play with his back to goal with flawless hold up play as the likes of Graziano Pelle (Conte's striker for Italy), Mirko Vucinic and Fernando Llorente (both at Juventus) come to mind. It is unfair to judge Batshuayi with his poor goal returns (seven goals in 32 league games) as it should be noted he has only completed the whole 90 minutes once which was in the game against Brighton last weekend. Such has been his plight that he didn't even start in three games in mid-December with Eden Hazard getting the nod as a false 9 in the absence of injured Alvaro Morata. Also to be noted is that the Belgian has played only 300 minutes across all competitions this season scoring seven goals which translates to a goal every 42 minutes ; did I hear you say Impressive? This season despite starting from the bench, the Belgian has scored three decisive goals (a double against Watford in the league and one against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League) not excluding his hat-trick against Nottingham Forest in the third round of the Carabao Cup with the icing on the cake his goal against Norwich in the return leg of the FA Cup third round game as well as his double against Newcastle United in the FA Cup .
Batshuayi is a victim of Conte's system when properly analysed. A look at strikers linked with the Italian proves it (Peter Crouch, Fernando Llorente, Barnes, Andy Carroll and now Edin Dzeko) ; players who can bring their teammates into play , physically dominant , big aerial presence and target men. This is in stark contrast to Batshuayi who is more of a poacher as well as perfect when he plays facing the goal rather than backing it. Against Brighton, the Belgian showed glimpses of his quality as he linked perfectly with Eden Hazard and Willian with deft touches (see Willian's goal). Batshuayi is a central forward rather than a target man; he strives better by passing to his attacking teammates rather than turning and shooting as well as decent when his team is in transition .
With the World Cup in five months time, Batshuayi probably knows he needs game time to make it to the star studded Belgian team which is something Chelsea might not offer him . As he plans to depart on loan, Chelsea fans hope that he improves while on loan coming back to Chelsea in the summer a better player. Although that will mean Tammy Abraham will have to be sent on loan again in the summer and Conte changing his style to play two strikers in a game to fit in the trio of Alvaro Morata, Edin Dzeko and him.
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