Who The Hell Are You? Vol. 2: Michy Batshuayi

In the second edition of ‘Who The Hell Are You?’, we profile Chelsea FC signing Michy Batshuayi as we find out just who the hell he is.

With everything seemingly done except the Official Tweet™, Chelsea fans had to wait a whole 2.5 days into the transfer window before it was final. The tweet came and Michy Batshuayi officially joined Chelsea from Olympique Marseille for £33 million.

It was reported that Arsenal and Tottenham were interested, and Crystal Palace had already lodged a £31.5 million bid for his services. But after a dinner meeting between Batshuayi’s agent and representatives of Chelsea and Antonio Conte, Batshuayi shunned other offers and told Marseille President Vincent Labrune that he wanted to go to Stamford Bridge.

So, who the hell is Michy Batshuayi?

Name: Michy Batshuayi

DOB: 02/10/93

Nationality: Belgian nationality, Congolese descent

Position: Forward

First things first. How the hell do you pronounce his name? Well, let’s get it from the horse’s mouth.

Michy grew up playing football in the streets of Sint-Agatha-Berchem, a municipality of Brussels. It was there where he honed the creative side of the game (take-ons, turns, and using two feet) but it also manifested a dislike of discipline. This was evident in his teenage years, causing him to be dropped by both Brussels and Anderlecht for his bad attitude.

Eventually Batshuayi would land at Standard Liege in 2008/09 where he fought to get into the first team. In February of 2011 he made his debut as a substitute. It took him a while to get going, and even once he had, disciplinary issues followed.

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In 2012 he was red carded and banned four matches for a stamp and, later in the year, he received another red card and two-match ban for an elbow. Still, throughout those troubles, the talent was there. He notched 39 goals in 97 appearances for Standard Liege.

As Batshuayi started to get a handle on his career, introspection came.

"I have a bad boy reputation in Belgium. They judged me because I had two red cards when I started. Look, I did make a lot of mistakes, but now I have matured a lot. … It is true that after those two stupid reds, the defenders were fond of provoking me, but now when they try to put me off my game, it makes me laugh. –Michy Batshuayi, Tribal Football"

Sensing Michy’s desire to maximize his talent was overriding his urges of immaturity, then-manager of Marseille, Marcelo Bielsa, urged the club to spend £4.5 million to bring him to the Stade Vélodrome in 2014.

The young Belgian took his opportunity well. In 62 appearances for Marseille he scored 26 times and assisted on 9 other goals.

Batshuayi’s ability to use both his body and either foot makes marking him a tough assignment. The joy of football is well-embedded from his days as a young street footballer. Now it seems that it’s time he added the discipline to his game to see what the combination of the two can manifest.

Next: Antonio Conte: “I have never felt supported by anyone.”

Having admitted his previous immaturity, Michy Batshuayi seems ready to get to it, as he was the one who eschewed other suitors to play under the tactically disciplined and succinct Antonio Conte.