Michy Batshuayi has revealed that his good friend and team-mate Eden Hazard was the one who advised him to stay at Chelsea over the summer transfer window.
The Belgian striker was unable to get the chance he might’ve hoped for last season, as Diego Costa’s superb form kept the former Marseille man on the bench pretty much throughout the whole 2016/17 campaign.
It wasn’t easy for Batshuayi to adapt to a new league with such small amount of playing time, which led to a lot of speculation of his future plans at the club. The 24-year-old was linked with a move to other Premier League sides such as West Ham and Swansea City, as well as to a return to Ligue 1 this summer, while Chelsea were planning to sign a third striker.
Eventually he decided to stay, and thanks his countryman Hazard for advicing him to do so. Batshuayi will now have a big chance to impress the manager after the hamstring injury of Alvaro Morata, which could see the first-choice striker being sidelined for as long as six weeks.
“It was friendly advice. When he said that, he thought a third striker was going to come, but in the end, there’s only two of us for one place. I want to succeed at this club and my relationship with Alvaro is very healthy.
I don’t want to leave during the next transfer window, because we’re going to play a lot of games and I will certainly get an opportunity.”
– Michy Batshuayi, DH Net (via SportsMole)
Batshuayi has scored five goals this term, but hasn’t made a start in the Premier League since the opening fixture against Burnley, which was only his second league start in his whole Chelsea career.
