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Phil Hay confrims Leeds interest in Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi

Leeds have well documented interest in another striker, and the Belgian international is available.

Chelsea FC v Manchester United - Carabao Cup Round of 16 Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Reliable Leeds United journalist Phil Hay of the Athletic has said than Leeds United are in the race for Belgium international striker Michy Batshuayi.

Chelsea striker Batshuayi signed for Chelsea in July 2016 for £33m from Ligue 1 side Marseille. However, he has found it difficult to hold down a first team place, scoring eight Premier League goals in 48 league appearances. Last season he saw a bit more football under “Stop crying” Frank Lampard, playing 24 games in all competitions and scoring six goals. He also had three loan deals at Borussia Dortmund, Valencia, and Crystal Palace.

Last season he saw a bit more football under “Stop crying” Frank Lampard, playing 24 games in all competitions and scoring six goals. however only one of these goals came in the league. Internationally Batshuayi has a good goalscoring record, scoring 16 goals in 29 appearances.

Batshuayi undoubtedly has ability but we haven’t seen the best of him in the Premier League. His loan at Crystal Palace saw him score five goals in 11 games for the Eagles which is a good ratio having joined in January 2019.

A deal for Batshuayi is a deal where my feelings completely depend on how much the deal costs. He certainly has the talent, but he hasn’t show it consistently enough and he has had injury issues. Those injury issues are worrying because Marcelo Bielsa pushes his players so hard, if there are underlying weaknesses then they tend to show-up.

It is known that Bielsa likes Batshuayi from their time working together at Marseille. He scored 10 goals in 28 games under the former Chile and Argentina manager in the 2014/15 season. The other thing that could keep the fee down is that Batshuayi’s contract expires at the end of the upcoming season - so a fee now is the best that Chelsea are going to get.

Do you fancy seeing Michy Batshuayi at Leeds? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter @ThruItAllLUFC.