Batshuayi Wants January Loan As World Cup Hopes Fade

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Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi wants a loan spell in January to keep his World Cup dreams alive, reports the Evening Standard.

The 24-year-old striker is concerned that a lack of first team football will damage his chances of being included in Roberto Martinez’s Belgium squad at next summer’s World Cup finals.

Batshuayi remains a bit-player player at Stamford Bridge, making just six appearances due to a mixture of poor performances and a foot injury.

How different he expected the story to be as London’s Premier League clubs descended on Marseille in pursuit of the young striker’s signature. Crystal Palace then West Ham struck deals with the Ligue Un club before Chelsea swooped with a £33m offer in 2016.

With Alvaro Morata’s arrival at Stamford Bridge, Batshuayi’s chances of regular first-team football remain limited. Antonio Conte’s preference in the Spaniard’s absence is to deploy Eden Hazard as a ‘false nine’ instead of the Belgian as an out-and-out striker. It doesn’t bode well for the former Standard Liege prodigy’s chances of establishing himself at Stamford Bridge in the future.

Conte’s plans to sign another forward in the next window hardly breed confidence in the youngster. Indeed, there is talk of Batshuayi being used as a makeweight in any deal for either of Monaco’s Thomas Lemar or Leon Bailey of Bayer Leverkusen.

If it cements his place in the Belgium squad, Batshuayi will have no qualms about leaving Stamford Bridge.