Premier League champions Chelsea might have to trade Michy Batshuayi with West Ham United, in order to sign Andy Carroll
West Ham United want Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi as a part of any deal that would see their forward, Andy Carroll, move to the Stamford Bridge in January, as per reports from the Sun.
Chelsea have identified former Liverpool and Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll as a primary target in the ongoing winter transfer window, as manager Antonio Conte looks to add more firepower to his attack, that has been quite goal-shy of late.
Summer arrival Alvaro Morata is struggling to repeat his form of early season and Batshuayi too has been unable to get himself among the goals. As a result, Chelsea have found it tough going in recent weeks. The Blues have drawn their previous four matches across all competitions, three of which have been goalless stalemates.
Chelsea boss Conte is keen on addressing this problem as he hopes to challenge the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool for the second place in the league table. And he seemingly has identified Carroll as the man to add some variety to his attacking line.
Having missed out on signing Fernando Llorente in the summer, the former Juventus manager sees Carroll, a striker of a similar profile, as a good fit into his scheme of things.
The 29-year old Englishman hasn’t played a lot over the course of the season so far, having made just 14 appearances across all competitions for West Ham, in which he has managed just two goals.
However, the Hammers’ manager David Moyes is understood to be not willing to sanction a sale at the moment as he looks to turn around the fortunes of the club.
After West Ham’s 1-0 win over Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup, the former Manchester United manager, as quoted by the Sun, said:
“I want to add players to my squad, not lose players.
“There have been a lot of rumours about a loan but as far as I know none of its come from Chelsea.
“At the moment Andy has an ankle injury and he had an injection 10 days ago and we’re hoping he will be be training soon.”
However, that stance could change if a possibility of Batshuayi moving the other way to the London Stadium arises. The Belgian striker is a subject of interest for La Liga outfit Sevilla as well. The Spanish side are understood to be increasingly confident of landing the 24-year old who has netted 7 goals in 21 appearances for the Chelsea senior side this term.
Batshuayi joined Chelsea from Olympique Marseille in the summer of 2016 amid high expectations. But the forward has failed to live up to the billing at the Stamford Bridge and has failed to win the trust of his manager.
Given the lack of playing time coming his way, Batshuayi would be keen on securing a move away and taking into consideration Chelsea’s strong interest in the services of Carroll, a loan swap deal is something that could very well happen before the deadline day.
