Chelsea are being linked with an increasing number of strikers as January nears, despite Alvaro Morata’s resurgent form and Olivier Giroud’s determination to fight. The Blues should recall Michy Batshuayi before they add to their ranks.
Both of our regular readers will know that confidence in our opinions is never in short supply around here. Even we have concede the “L” sometimes, though. When we look at Michy Batshuayi we see a technically strong, physically top-class, charismatic striker whose reading of the game lands him just where he needs to be to punch in classic No. 9 goals to the tune of an absurd minutes per goal ratio off the bench at Chelsea. But, it seems, we are wrong.
Valencia seems to have the same reading on Michy Batshuayi that Chelsea did under Antonio Conte. Give him a few opportunities, let him prove himself, discard said proof. Maurizio Sarri did not even get that far, flipping Batshuayi out on loan even though that meant Sarri would go into the season with the then- (and still) fragile Alvaro Morata and the then- (and still) old Olivier Giroud.
Batshuayi has 11 appearances in La Liga and three in the Champions League for Valencia. His appearance rate and playing time is going in the wrong direction, though. Batshuayi’s last complete game was on October 23, when he scored in Valencia’s 1-1 draw with BSC Young Boys in the Champions League. His last league start was four days later, and that ended with a halftime substitution. Since then he has had only one appearance worth 17 minutes.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are linked with January moves for Mauro Icardi, Callum Wilson and Krzysztof Piatek – all strikers. These rumours come with a variety of disqualifying caveats.
To wit: Maurizio Sarri has repeatedly said he is not interested in bringing in any players this January. He is content with the players he has, and if anything the squad is larger than he requires or desires.
Additionally, Alvaro Morata is coming into top form, not only overcoming his mental hurdles (no thanks to Sarri’s “I keep it real” press conference pep talks) but also coming into the odd role for a centre-forward in Sarrismo. He is creating chances, finding the net, engaging in battles and looks resilient in those battles (despite not lifting weights). Olivier Giroud, for his part, continues to do many things right beyond scoring in support of the wingers. He broke his goal drought for the win at BATE and, in any event, is not ready to surrender his spot in the squad.
Finally – at least for now, there are certainly other reasons – Chelsea are at their quota of non-homegrown players. If they want to buy a non-homegrown player they will need to sell one. Lucas Piazon, in particular, is needlessly filling a non-homegrown slot. But most of the players they are likely to sell are homegrown.
Every one of these reasons works against Michy Batshuayi just as much as they do against Icardi, Wilson and Piatek. This is not about why Chelsea should recall Batshuayi but why they shouldn’t – and most likely won’t – move for any striker. But if they do want a third striker, these are the hurdles the club and the new player will face. They could save a lot of effort, money and acrimony by not throwing another player into this jumble, but instead repositioning a player already in it.
By all measures Michy Batshuayi has the complete package for what Chelsea have missed at various points in the season. Positioning, speed, physicality, a striker’s feel for the goal… and he has the numbers to prove it, as long as you consider those number per 90 and not in absolute terms. Peter Bosz stood alone in his assessment of Batshuayi. Marcelino is taking his place with Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri.
Maurizio Sarri is already an outlier for only carrying two strikers in his squad. As we have noted many times before, he did not play with a true striker in his last two seasons at Napoli and may be adjusting himself and his tactics to the position. A third striker would give the Blues more of a buffer for injuries, fatigue and rotation. Even just having the third striker as a super-sub would alleviate the pressures and risks on the current pair.
If – big if – Chelsea really want a third striker, the Blues should do what Maurizio Sarri claims he loves doing and let him make the best of what he has. Rather than adding to the bloat, Sarri can take an expansive view of who is a Chelsea player and recall Michy Batshuayi.
That will salvage the second half of Batshuayi’s season, and still allow the Blues to spend big in an upcoming summer window for a striker like Mauro Icardi.