Michy Batshuayi plays down Chelsea exit talk as he becomes more relevant

Michy Batshuayi has largely taken a backseat role this summer, but the forgotten Chelsea man has played down transfer talk as he becomes more relevant.

Ever since Diego Costa revealed Antonio Conte’s messages to him, most of the transfer talk has surrounded his replacement. From Romelu Lukaku to Alvaro Morata, the papers have largely forgotten about Michy Batshuayi. Well, recent developments have brought him back under the microscope and he has responded to exit rumours.

Moulding some sort of medical examination into a joke about him staying, Batshuayi seems unfazed by suggestions that he may leave either permanently or on loan.

With Lukaku out of the picture and slow progress on the Morata front, Batshuayi may suddenly find himself leading the line during pre-season. Chelsea have much work to do if a marquee striker is to be signed before the start of the Premier League campaign. Hence, Batshuayi has gone from an afterthought to the potential centre-stage.

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Monday marks the start of pre-season training and Diego Costa has been excused. That leaves the young Belgian as the number one striker in the squad. Eden Hazard is injured and thus cannot even fill in as a stop-gap. Bertrand Traore and Dominic Solanke, potential rotation candidates, have severed ties with the club.

This is a dire reflection of the current situation in West London. Batshuayi made 20 Premier League appearances last season, but 19 were from the bench. Not only that, almost all of them came with the clock winding down.

While Batshuayi may be indicating that he is not going anywhere, his return to the spotlight is a worrying reminder for Blues fans. Despite being a £30 million man, there are few who believe that the Belgian is up to the task of leading the line for the champions.

Next: Chelsea need to improve their sales pitch to prospective transfer targets

However, Conte may have no other option once the season starts on 12th August. How worried are you? Vent your frustration in the comments below!