Chelsea could use Michy Batshuayi as a bait as they fight Liverpool and Arsenal for Monaco’s highly-rated winger Thomas Lemar. The Belgian striker is out of favour under Antonio Conte, who left him on the bench for Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Huddersfield despite Alvaro Morata missing the game through injury.
The former Marseille hitman has failed to integrate into Conte’s system and the Blues would be willing to allow him to move back to Ligue 1 on loan in January.
According to the Daily Telegraph, Chelsea are interested in signing Lemar from Monaco and Batshuayi could be one of the first names up for discussion to head in the opposite direction, in what could be a swap deal.
Batshuayi has been forced to wait patiently for his chance behind main striker Morata, but the manager has even now started using a ‘false-9’ system. It points to a limited future at Stamford Bridge for Batshuayi, even with little other back-ups for Morata.
Conte’s adaptation to the ‘false-9’ system has paid rich dividends as Chelsea have now won each of the four games with Hazard deployed in that position.
Chelsea have been looking for a target man to help out Morata, but have shifted their attention to Lemar, who could play with a ‘false-9’ more regularly, as the Frenchman can operate on the left, right or through the middle and allow Hazard even more freedom. Hazard, in fact, has thrived all season whenever he has been used in this more advanced role.
The Blues’ interest comes from the fact that former Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo is the new sporting director at Monaco following his recent resignation from Stamford Bridge and played a significant role in taking Batshuayi to London last year.
Reigning French champions Monaco were among the clubs interested in Batshuayi in the summer, but Chelsea decided to keep hold of the Belgian after missing out on Fernando Llorente.
Should the opportunity to leave, perhaps just on loan, arrive for Batshuayi, the Belgian should not think twice before leaving London as he is under pressure to give himself the best possible chance of selection for Belgium’s World Cup squad by playing more regularly.
A temporary move to Ligue 1 club Monaco, who knows, may reignite his stuttering career.