Chelsea have seemingly gone back to square one after finishing 5th in the Premier League, resulting in their failure to qualify for the Champions League next season. The 2016/17 Premier League champions put in some lacklustre displays last term and their attempt to defend the title fell flat.
One of the reasons they failed to impress was their inability to threaten in front of the goal. This was also due to the fact that the club clearly missed their spearhead, Diego Costa. The Blues only managed 62 goals last season and that was after they brought reinforcements in the form of Alvaro Morata.
Morata started off well but ended up fizzling out under pressure and couldn’t inspire the Blues when they really needed it. And despite that, Michy Batshuayi always played second fiddle to Morata as he was used as a super-sub by Antonio Conte. The Belgian scored 10 goals in 24 appearances for the Blues and he only started in 7 games.
Morata, on the other hand, scored 15 only goals in 47 appearances, starting in 30 games. These numbers speak for themselves and it is baffling as to why Conte never gave the Belgian much game time. Chelsea then decided to send Batshuayi away on loan to Borrusia Dortmund, which was followed by the signing of Olivier Giroud from Arsenal.
This move only benefited the Gunners as Batshuayi’s presence at the German club allowed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to move to Arsenal. However, Conte continued to field Morata and played Giroud as a super-sub. The fact that Morata was still playing for Chelsea made no sense whatsoever.
The lad missed some sitters in their 2-2 draw against Arsenal. All he could do was the head the ball into the net and Giroud was much better at that. In fact, Morata is the epitome of what we would call an overrated and ridiculously overpriced player.
Meanwhile, Giroud ended up saving Chelsea’s day on numerous occasions. On the other hand, Batshuayi was a revelation at Dortmund. The Belgian scored 9 goals in 11 appearances for the club and helped them salvage the season as they secured a 4th place finish.
Any team in their right mind would pick the Belgian over Morata. Even Giroud scored 16 goals this season despite playing lesser than the Spaniard. The only thing that Chelsea should be relieved about is the fact that Batshuayi’s move to Dortmund is not permanent.
If Chelsea are to make an attempt to contend for the Premier League and Europa League titles, they should sign a new deal with Batshuayi and start him up front instead of Morata. The truth is, Morata isn’t good enough for Chelsea. He should be a third option behind Batshuayi and Giroud.
The Belgian has got more pace than the Spaniard, boasts of better positional play and is good at finishing as well, unlike his Spanish counterpart. If Chelsea are smart, they would choose to retain Batshuayi, sell Morata and strengthen their squad with the money they receive.
