Leeds United appear to be on the hunt for an additional striker this summer and a new name has been mooted by The Athletic’s Phil Hay…
What’s the word?
On the latest episode of the Phil Hay Show, he said: “One that’s definitely of interest is Michy Batshuayi down at Chelsea. Bielsa knows him from Marseille and he knows a lot about his game. He wouldn’t have to adapt massively. Despite it not happening for him at Chelsea he’s at a prime age, 26. Leeds will want to see progress in the next week or two.”
It’s not the first time that the Belgian has been mooted with a switch to Elland Road with Football Insider claiming he could cost less than £25m earlier this month.
Batshuayi is entering the final year of his contract at Chelsea and has started just one game all season across the Premier League and the Champions League.
Super-sub
Despite having Olivier Giroud and Tammy Abraham in front of him in the pecking order, a swoop for the 26-year-old would be perfect as Marcelo Bielsa needs a viable back-up to Patrick Bamford – especially with the Jean-Kevin Augustin saga up in the air.
One of the biggest problems surrounding the Yorkshire giants has been their tendency to suffer from burnout, it may have been what caused them to stumble last season and this year’s stop-start campaign, may have helped push them over the line finally.
This can’t happen in the top-fight otherwise they’ll be at risk of becoming a one-season wonder, which is why squad depth is needed. Batshuayi can provide that.
Over the last few seasons, he’s become widely known as the ‘super-sub’ for the Blues, so he’d be perfect for Bielsa to throw on when Bamford is in need of a break.
The Leeds boss helped Batshuayi to break onto the scene in France whilst Frank Lampard believes he’s “top class” and “hard-working”.
Victor Orta must push ahead with this move if United are to truly compete in the top-flight next season.
AND in other news, Leeds may have found the next Trent Alexander-Arnold…