Why Michy Batshuayi can help solve Crystal Palace’s striker problems
The BBC have reported that Crystal Palace have signed Chelsea star Michy Batshuayi, with the former Marseille striker joining the Eagles on loan for the remainder of the season. The 25-year-old struggled during his spell with Valencia scoring just one goal in 15 La Liga appearances for their side, which led to the club cutting his loan spell short.
However, with Tottenham and even Everton in the race, it looks like Roy Hodgson may have finally got his striker. Sky Sports has further revealed that Chelsea refused to let Michy Batshuayi move to Tottenham, with the Blues not wanting to sell to a direct top-four rival. The bad blood between the two sides also played a part in the proceedings. This allowed Crystal Palace to swoop in and effectively reinforce their front-line.
While the Eagles haven’t had the worst season so far, they’ve still had issues finding the net, with defensive midfielder Luka Milivojevic leading the scoring charts with seven goals. This has caused a few problems for Crystal Palace, with only Alexander Sorloth finding the net among the three centre-forwards. However, for Michy Batshuayi, this only means that the pressure is on him to start rediscovering his ability in front of goal.
While Michy Batshuayi has shown he can score goals and make himself a menace for defenders, the Belgian international has been rather inconsistent since his big-money move to the Premier League.
He’s only managed 19 goals in 53 appearances for the Blues, but this includes only 7 in the Premier League. However, the 25-year-old has shown that he can be very prolific, with spells at Borussia Dortmund and even Marseille showcasing exactly that.
In just six months with the Bundesliga giants, Batshuayi scored 7 goals in 10 appearances before an injury to his ankle cut things short. Meanwhile with Marseille, the Belgian finished his final season in the Ligue 1 scoring 30 goals in 43 appearances, which lead to him getting picked for the Euro 2016 and eventually getting a big-money move to Chelsea.
This is the Batshuayi that Crystal Palace need at the moment and alongside what appears to be Wilfried Zaha at his best and an in-form Andros Townsend, it could be a brilliant trio. It’s going to be a crucial few weeks for the club and a baptism of fire for Batshuayi on his return to Premier League football.
