Wednesday 18 October 2017 11:55, UK
Michy Batshuayi may be a popular character with Chelsea supporters but on the field he is struggling to convince manager Antonio Conte…
Batshuayi has developed something of a cult status at Chelsea. Despite being restricted to limited game time since his £33m transfer from Marseille he has seized a starring role in some of the most memorable moments of Antonio Conte's reign so far.
He has played up to his Batman nickname and was the unlikely hero in May, prodding in from close range to clinch the Premier League title for Chelsea, while last month he stepped off the bench to score the decisive goal in the Blues' impressive Champions League victory at Atletico Madrid.
Throw in his entertaining social media accounts and enthusiastic interviews and it is easy to see why the 24-year-old is a popular character.
But he seems to be struggling to convince Conte of his quality and a poor performance in a rare start against Crystal Palace on Saturday appears to have damaged his prospects further.
In his press conference on Tuesday, Conte conceded he took an injury risk by starting Alvaro Morata ahead of Batshuayi against Manchester City in September, before snubbing the Belgian and turning to Willian when the Spaniard hobbled off after 35 minutes. But he is considering immediately re-instating fit-again Morata for this week's Champions League tie with Roma.
It is hardly a ringing endorsement of Batshuayi's credentials as a suitable stand-in.
In fairness to Conte, the Belgian blew his chance to impress with an afternoon to forget at Selhurst Park last weekend, when he was handed just his third Premier League start since joining Chelsea in the summer of 2016.
Batshuayi was substituted after just 57 minutes. Nineteen touches, no shots at goal and no passes leading to an effort from a team-mate were the bare facts of an ineffectual performance in his side's 2-1 defeat.
He touched the ball just once in the Crystal Palace box and completed only nine of 13 attempted passes for a team-low 69.9 per cent passing accuracy. Alarmingly Batshuayi only made two forward passes in the match - and failed to find a team-mate with either of them.
He reacted angrily when he was withdrawn but could have few complaints with the damning decision from his manager. "He was a little bit upset at being taken off, but I did not think he merited staying on the pitch, to be honest," pundit Ray Wilkins told Sky Sports. "If he looks back on it and analyses the game, he will think 'I was pretty poor on Saturday'."
Without an effective focal point, holding up, recycling and shifting the ball into dangerous areas, and without a threat in the box, positioned to capitalise on Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas' build-up play, Chelsea were blunt in the first half, as Palace made the most of their fast start. It will have been a worry for Conte - and a result he'll remember when he considers utilising Batshuayi from the start again in the future.
"On Saturday he was a liability," said Wilkins. "His movement is almost null and void. When you are playing in a team like Chelsea your movement has to be first-class up front but there was no real dynamic movement anywhere for someone to find him.
When you are playing in a team like Chelsea your movement has to be first-class up front but there was no real dynamic movement anywhere for someone to find him.
"The one thing you expect from a young man is they will give you life and energy but he never once made a run in behind. He was just a bit disappointing and I do not think he is the answer."
Conte talked up Batshuayi's improvement ahead of the game but his conclusion that he must "continue to work to find the right solution" with Morata and influential N'Golo Kante injured indicated he was unhappy with what he'd seen and calls into question Batshuayi's long-term future at the club.
As well as Morata, Chelsea were also keen on adding former Swansea striker Fernando Llorente to their squad in the summer before he joined Tottenham, while Conte has previously opted to play Hazard as a false nine, rather than field Batshuayi.
After playing just 239 minutes of top-flight football last season, when he was deputy to Diego Costa, Batshuayi knows his chances are limited and, with Morata now back in the frame, he may be facing another wait before he gets to show what he can do from the start of an important game again.
