Why Crystal Palace must make a move for Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi

Back in October 2019, The Express had claimed that Crystal Palace were interested in signing Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi ahead of the January transfer window. However, no move materialised in January and the centre-forward has since stayed put at Stamford Bridge.

Michy Batshuayi, 26, has played only 15 Premier League games for Chelsea this season. He has largely been out of favour this season, with Tammy Abraham staking a convincing claim to be regarded as the Blues’ No.1 striker.

However, due to Abraham’s injury, Batshuayi started in the 2-0 defeat to Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Monday but failed to impress. As a result, Olivier Giroud got a start against Tottenham earlier in the day and impressed by scoring a goal. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace’s form has dipped massively over the last few weeks.

The Eagles have struggled once again for goals, with Hodgson’s side managing only 24 goals in 27 league games. Neither Wilfried Zaha nor Andros Townsend has been consistent this term, while Christian Benteke scored in the 3-1 defeat to Everton in what was just his first goal of 2019/20 campaign.

Hodgson brought in Cenk Tosun on loan from Everton in January but the Turk has netted only once in three games for his new club. Clearly, Palace must address their goalscoring problems before the start of 2020/21 campaign. In that regard, they must rekindle their interest in Michy Batshuayi when the transfer window opens this summer.

Batshuayi has failed to nail down a starting berth at Chelsea ever since joining from French club Marseille in 2016. He has since had loan spells at Borussia Dortmund, Valencia and Crystal Palace. The striker spent the second half of last season on loan at Palace and scored six times in 11 starts for Hodgson’s team, making a telling impact for the South Londoners.

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The Belgian has failed to live up to the expectations at Chelsea but there’s no doubting his ability and experience. In his club career, Batshuayi has netted 122 goals in 325 appearances. The 26-year-old also has a solid record in the international arena, scoring 16 goals in 29 games for Belgium.

Verdict

Batshuayi needs a fresh start to revive his stuttering career and must leave Chelsea at the end of the season. At the age of 26, he is entering the prime stages of his career and even if he hasn’t quite made a name for himself at Stamford Bridge, Crystal Palace must attempt to sign the Belgium international in the summer to bolster their forward options.