Chelsea should not be content with Michy Batshuayi being a Belgium sub

Michy Batshuayi needed only 22 minutes to lead Belgium in several key offensive statistics. Chelsea and Belgium need to find ways to move him beyond his standard tasking as super-sub par excellence.

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. Michy Batshuayi came off the bench in the second half of the second half, and finished the game with more to show for it than most players who went the full 90 minutes. “Batshuayi time” may be as much a Belgian phenomenon as it is one at Chelsea, as the substitute striker scored in the 90′ to put Belgium up 5-1.

Batshuayi used his short appearance to lead Belgium in shots (six), share the lead for shots on target with Hazard and Yannick Carrasco (three), and was joint second in dribbles with two. His six shots came from 16 touches, a Mohamed Salah-level of single-minded purpose and positioning.

That final statistic, though, also points to a recurring detractor in Batshuayi’s game. Throughout his time at Chelsea he often looked like he was trying to force the issue, as though he was wrestling the game for chances, shots and goals rather than developing with the game and creating his chances organically. This was an understandable, if sometimes counter-productive, tendency. He showed some of this against Tunisia on Saturday. The issue is not that he shouldn’t do it. It’s that he shouldn’t have to.

Michy Batshuayi has to share Chelsea fans’ exasperation in wondering he has to do to be more than a super sub. He is a reliable goal-scorer. He has strength, touch, acceleration and vision. He reads the game as a striker should, knowing where the ball is likely to pop out and where he needs to be to put it in. West Bromwich Albion and Atletico Madrid can speak to the two most famous examples of this. His statistics as well as casual observations of his game show that, yes, he is excellent as a sub but, no, that is not all he offers to club and country.

Unsurprisingly, Batshuayi showed the least tendency to force the game in his half season on loan at Borussia Dortmund. He started 13 games, and played nearly as many minutes in 14 appearances as he did in 54 appearances for Chelsea. Because he was in the starting XI, he was better integrated in the team’s tactics and flow of play. He had the time to let the play come to him, and was also not under the artificial pressure of having to send a message. He still had to perform to justify and re-earn his place, but he was held to the same standard as everyone else. At Chelsea, it’s still not clear on what standard Antonio Conte judged him.

Despite the seven year age difference, Michy Batshuayi is in a similar place as Olivier Giroud. Chelsea and France both initially saw Giroud as a super sub. The need for tactical adjustments and short-comings of earlier starting XI’s brought him into the starting lineup. Giroud showed for France his ability to focus play as the target man, just as he does for Chelsea. He made his case to start throughout the knockout rounds, and Didier Deschamps will likely stick with him.

Giroud has the advantage of many years more experience than Batshuayi. But Batshuayi is in the position of not having the experience necessary to gain the experience. He is in one sense unfortunate to be sharing his club colours with Alvaro Morata and Giroud, and the national colours with Romelu Lukaku. At the same time, the quality difference between Batshuayi and these other strikers is not as vast as their playing time would indicate.

The World Cup does not allow much wiggle room for error and experimentation. When Roberto Martinez has to win, and has Eden Hazard, Dries Mertens, Romelu Lukaku and Michy Batshuayi on his hands, Batshuayi is the unfortunate but understandable – in this context – odd man out.

The responsibility, therefore, falls on Chelsea to make better use of Batshuayi. They should develop him so the decision between Lukaku and Batshuayi is not so clear-cut for Roberto Martinez.

The Blues should make it a point of pride for their striker to start for his national team, and not Manchester United’s. They should also recognize that 24 years old is too young for a player to be a designated substitute. Even on a team like Belgium, Chelsea should build players for starting roles. If 31-year old super sub Olivier Giroud can start for France, the Blues should make it their mission to see Michy Batshuayi start for Belgium. Batshuayi and Lukaku would benefit from the competition, and Chelsea should be eager to battle Manchester United over this prop bet.

Alas, such mentalities are missing from Stamford Bridge.

Next: Links to defenders hint at a continuation of three at the back

Chelsea at least have the option to sell him to a club where he will be the starting striker. Borussia Dortmund would fight to be first in line. No Chelsea fan wants that, but Michy Batshuayi fans will increasingly recognize the necessity if the club cannot devise a better option.