The utter silence of Chelsea rumors about Michy Batshuayi is deafening

This should be a prime time for transfer rumors in and out of clubs, but Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi is in limbo with nothing said for or against.

Michy Batshuayi’s career has taken strange turns since joining Chelsea. Initially a very much out of nowhere transfer, Batshuayi seemed like a solid piece of business at first. But he failed to find his feet under Antonio Conte while behind Diego Costa and little changed with Maurizio Sarri or Frank Lampard.

There is surely a good player in there, as shown by his brief time at Dortmund and Crystal Palace. But it is hard to separate those spells from his spells at Valencia and Chelsea itself. Batshuayi could be great, but he has simply never been able to show it consistently.

With football suspended mostly worldwide and the summer approaching, one would expect transfer rumors to be running wild right now. They simply are nonexistent about Batshuayi. The silence in the rumor mill is deafening for the player.

There is surely a discrepancy from what Chelsea value Batshuayi at and what clubs are willing to pay. He cost a mere £33 million, but the Blues are probably looking for something closer to 40 if not at least something that gets their money back.

Even in an inflated market (which may come down due to COVID-19), a club would have to be very certain about Batshuayi to drop 33-40 million on him. Simply put, there has not been enough in his career to create that certainty.

Yes, his spell at Dortmund was good. His more recent spell at Crystal Palace was also good. He is even frequently good for the national team when he plays. But clubs are pragmatic. They will look at Valencia and Chelsea and wonder “well why not there?”. The next step of that thought is whether or not they would add their name to that list. The risk is seemingly not worth it for many clubs.

At this rate, it is highly likely that Batshuayi sees himself out on loan once again. His latest loan, to Palace, was a clear step down from Dortmund, Valencia, and Chelsea, but at this rate it may be the best he can expect. Palace, still managed by Roy Hodgson, would surely be willing to take him in on a short term basis once more. West Ham was linked many weeks ago. A newly cash flux Newcastle may be looking to ease their way into their new resources by bringing Batshuayi in.

But right now that is all speculation. Those West Ham rumors are nearly a month old now and that is an eternity in the rumor mill world. It is incredibly clear that Batshuayi will not return next season. But usually that coincides with a destination. There is not one.

Batshuayi rumors should be happening right now. The silence is deafening. Chelsea will do what they can to move him along, but it is simply not clear how that will happen currently.