Why I’m worried about Michy Batshuayi
Michy Batshuayi is at a vital stage in his career. He has spent a season and a half at Chelsea under Conte. In that time he’s played a pathetic 502 Premier League minutes.
Antonio Conte doesn’t have full control over Chelsea’s recruitment policy. He has said he didn’t know if they’d approached West Ham about Andy Carroll.
This has caused some frustration for Conte as he was unable to spend big and bring in some of he players he wanted. As well as having players he isn’t keen on. Such as the Diego Costa debacle and the Batshuayi situation.
Batshuayi is only 24. He signed for Chelsea aged 22 for €40m after a great season in France for Marseille, playing alongside Florian Thauvin. That season he produced 17 league goals, earning him the attention of top European clubs.
Playing just 500 minutes along with some cup and Champions League minutes this season seems a waste of time. And a waste of talent. 18 months of development lost for a young player. A lack of game time and coming into games for short stints against tired legs and less structured teams cannot help his development.
I was watching him today against Norwich in the FA Cup 3rd round replay. (I tweeted about a few things I noticed throughout the match) He didn’t particularly impress and was a large topic of conversation among pundits and commentators.
He had a rare start in this game. He’s been linked with moves to Sevilla, West Ham and Dortmund, among others this January window.
He failed to impress throughout today. The Belgian looked frustrated and lacking confidence. His touch was poor and lost his team possession, costing them quality in and around the 18 yard box. He worked hard and chased every ball. Resulting in several fouls.
I thought he was ball watching too much and stationary rather than considering options and making movement. He was also caught offside several times when he did make runs.
His match reminded me of trialists match. A game where each player is trying to stand out and show off what they can do. Causing them to not do the basics. And make poor decisions by trying to do too much. Batshuayi clearly wants to impress and needs to take advantage of the chances he gets on the pitch.
He did eventually get a goal by getting into a good position in the box. Helped by poor defending from Norwich which allowed him to get free so easily. I was really happy to see him get the goal and see the relief on his face. He was ecstatic.
Batshuayi has shown in France his ability and has scored goals for Chelsea when he’s played. A move away really seems like his best option. I’m worried that too much time at Chelsea will stunt his development.
I want to make it clear that I really like Batshuayi. I want him to do well and hence why I’m worried. The tweet above is very true. Playing inconsistent, small amounts of minutes in a side that hasn’t grabbed many headlines has meant his success has gone largely under the radar.
The clubs interested in him seem like interesting moves. Hopefully the striker can succeed wherever he ends up and can earn time on the pitch.
Thanks for reading.
Follow my twitter for my thoughts and little bits of analysis.
See the rest of my writing here.
