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Should Chelsea take £40 million or keep Michy Batshuayi?

By Ajitesh Rasgotra

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 20: Mousa Dembele of Tottenham Hotspur and Michy Batshuayi of Chelsea battle for possession during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on August 20, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 20: Mousa Dembele of Tottenham Hotspur and Michy Batshuayi of Chelsea battle for possession during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on August 20, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images) /
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Ligue 1 outfit Lille are reportedly putting together a near £40 million bid for Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi. Should the Blues consider the offer?

As the transfer deadline closes in, the rumour mills kicks into overdrive. The latest story doing the rounds concerns Michy Batshuayi. Lille are reportedly finalising a £36 million offer for the Chelsea striker. Even though this is still a tabloid rumour, let’s consider whether the Blues should entertain the deal.

The Mirror claims that the Ligue 1 club are interested in making a last-minute move for the Belgian. Batshuayi’s stay in West London has not been overly successful so far and the deal could leaves the Blues with a bit of profit.

"Lille are ready to offer £36million to end striker Michy Batshuayi’s misery at Chelsea…Chelsea would even make a profit on the player thanks to the falling value of the pound. They paid €40m for the player and although Lille’s will offer the same amount, the fall in the value of the pound means the champions would make a profit."

Although it is early in the season, Chelsea appear set to struggle in front of goal this season. After an impressive pre-season, Batshuayi has done nothing but disappoint in his starts against Arsenal and Burnley. To compound his misery, he came on against Tottenham on Sunday only to nod the ball into his own net.

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Alvaro Morata, meanwhile, showed glimpses of his quality against Burnley. However, he was found wanting at Wembley and he missed a sitter of an opportunity to give Chelsea an early lead.

The Blues’ two goals came from an unlikely source in Marcos Alonso. Worryingly, Morata and Batshuayi didn’t look like hitting the back of the (right) net at any point.

That makes this potential deal even more interesting. If Batshuayi leaves, Chelsea are left with Morata as the only genuine striking option in the senior squad. They do get nearly £40 million in return, though, which could be put to work in the last week of the transfer window.

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Having said that, will the Blues be able to sign any quality striker this close to the deadline? That is yet another issue. Europe’s premier (and quality back-up) strikers will cost much more than £40 million. There will also be a premium for signing them after their current club’s season has started.

Meanwhile, should Batshuayi not improve this season, Chelsea will be stuck with a lemon. No club will be prepared to pay such a high fee for a striker that has not impressed nor improved over two seasons. Hopefully he will kick on, but this is the worst case scenario.

There are so many different arguments here. The difficulty in bringing in a replacement at this stage probably means that Chelsea will not sell. But what do you think? Should the Blues take the money or keep Michy Batshuayi? Vote below!

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You can’t help but think Chelsea would have been happy to sanction the move should Lille have submitted an offer earlier in the summer.

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