Antonio Conte has backed Michy Batshuayi to make his mark in the long term at Chelsea as he considers handing the Belgian his first Premier League start in place of the suspended Diego Costa for the Boxing Day visit of Bournemouth.
Batshuayi, a £33.2m signing from Marseille in the summer, has been limited to 13 appearances this campaign, his three starts coming in the EFL Cup. His last goals were a brace in a 3-2 win over Bristol Rovers in that competition in August and he has been reduced to cameos since as Conte has been keen to give the striker time to adjust to the physicality and pace of the Premier League.
Costa’s impressive form – he scored his 13th goal of the season against Crystal Palace last Saturday to secure the leaders’ 11th successive win – and improved on-field discipline have left Batshuayi on the fringes but the Spain international accrued his fifth caution of the season at Selhurst Park and will miss the visit of Bournemouth. Conte could ask Eden Hazard to operate as a false No9, flanked by Willian and Pedro, but appears likelier to ask the 23-year-old Batshuayi to lead the line.
“Michy’s attitude, his behaviour, have been fantastic,” said the manager. “He wants to improve his quality. Technical quality, physical quality, and we are working a lot with him on tactical aspects.
“He’s showing great commitment, great work-rate during the training sessions, great passion. For sure he wants to play and it’s not easy when you have Diego Costa in front of you – above all this Costa, who is playing fantastic football and scoring a lot of goals. But I repeat: it’s important for Michy to continue to work, to continue to improve. I’m sure his moment will arrive. If I decide to put Michy in the starting XI, it is because he is ready to play. He must do what he knows, what we are doing in the training sessions. Only this. If Michy is here, it’s because he deserves to stay here.”
Chelsea have made clear to West Ham United that any attempt to sign the player on loan will be swiftly rebuffed and they are keen to grant him game time in the Premier League in case they need to rely upon him more regularly over the second half of the season. But Conte has been acutely aware of the toils endured by his compatriot Simone Zaza, a member of his Italy squad at Euro 2016, at West Ham this season and is anxious Batshuayi does not suffer the same teething problems.
He is convinced the forward has improved merely by training alongside players such as Costa and Hazard. “I think every single player, every forward, is different for characteristics, so Michy is different if you compare him to Diego,” Conte said. “Above all because, first of all, he’s a younger player. He can improve a lot. For sure, to stay close to Diego, you can learn a lot to improve your experience and improve your skills. And to have the training sessions with great players improves you.”
Chelsea must also replace the banned N’Golo Kanté against Bournemouth, with Cesc Fàbregas likely to step in for only his third Premier League start in more than three months. He set up Costa for the equaliser at Manchester City and scored the winner at Sunderland, in each of the games he has begun since the defeat at Arsenal in September, and will seek to inspire a club record 12th consecutive victory.
