Chelsea have reportedly set a price tag of £10 million for out-of-favour striker Michy Batshuayi, who is courting interest from other Premier League clubs.
According to a report from football.london, Chelsea have made the decision to offload striker Michy Batshuayi in the upcoming transfer window and are set to demand a transfer fee of at least £10 million for the Belgian.
Batshuayi signed for Chelsea in the summer of 2016 from Ligue 1 side LOSC Lille in a deal worth £33.2 million. However, the Belgian never really got a look-in into the side under then manager Antonio Conte. Fortunes did not improve for the centre-forward under subsequent managers, Maurizio Sarri or Frank Lampard, with the 27-year-old largely spending time away on loan.
Indeed, Batshuayi had been away on temporary stints at Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla and Crystal Palace in the past, although he did stay put at Stamford Bridge during the 2019/20 owing to the transfer ban on Chelsea but was hardly used by Lampard. The Belgian spent the 2020/21 campaign on another loan spell at Crystal Palace, but largely underwhelmed, managing just two goals in 18 league games.
Back at Chelsea, Batshuayi finds himself in a limbo as there is currently no place for him at Stamford Bridge. Indeed, the likes of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Olivier Giroud, who recently signed a new one-year deal, as well as Tammy Abraham, who is staring at an uncertain future at the club, are all ahead of the Belgian in the pecking order.
Not to forget, Chelsea are also ardently pursuing the signing of Tottenham Hotspur superstar Harry Kane, which would only add to Thomas Tuchel’s attacking options, thus rendering Batshuayi pretty much surplus to requirements. The 27-year-old has only one year left on his current contract with the Blues, who have now decided that the time is right to cash in on the Belgian rather than lose him for nothing a year later.
The report adds that Batshuayi is courting interest from one top-half Premier League side while Turkish club Trabzonspor are also said to be keen on the striker, who is currently away on international duty with the Belgian national team. And Chelsea will demand a transfer fee of at least £10 million for the forward.
In his five years with Chelsea, Batshuayi has made 77 appearances, in which he has scored a respectable 25 goals. However, his time at Stamford Bridge seems to be approaching its end. It now remains to be seen if the interested parties are willing to meet the Blues’ asking price for the striker.