Could it be that the second-most valuable player on Chelsea’s books doesn’t even play his games in London?
Michy Batshuayi, loanee extraordinaire, scored again on Sunday. He also provided what the National Hockey League calls a secondary assist on his goal, a beautiful backwards flick. Take a look.
In nine Bundesliga matches since his January loan, Michy has scored seven times. That’s a 78% clip. He’s almost worth a goal in every league game for Dortmund (he has an official assist as well). In all thirteen matches for BVB, he’s netted nine.
Now, let’s agree that Bundesliga defenses seem to be looser than Premier League defenses. How often would a runner like Nuri Şahin have found himself so open in England? (Ed.note: based on his failed brief spell at Liverpool, not very often.) And I don’t think we’ll disagree that Dortmund’s system seems to favor Batsman’s skill set.
Even so, a young gentleman named Ousmane Dembélé, with nine goals and 21 assists (in all competitions) for the Black and Yellow last season, leveraged himself into a €105 million transfer to Barcelona over the summer.
Chelsea aren’t likely to sell the talented and young — still just 24 years-old — Batsman. Under a different manager and a new system, he might thrive in the Premier League. But when a no.9 lights it up the way he has in such a short time, in a new league, in a country where he doesn’t even speak the language, he’s going to turn some heads and maybe loosen some pocketbooks.
We assume that Eden Hazard is worth somewhere north of €100 million. But after him, who else on Chelsea’s books can command such a fee? Thibaut? Goalkeepers don’t typically generate massive fees. Morata? His value probably hasn’t gone up since joining Chelsea last summer. Christensen? Maybe?
Or could it be that the man who couldn’t find a fit at Stamford Bridge the last two seasons is the second-most valuable player on Chelsea’s books? I think that’s called irony.