Chelsea braced for Michy Batshuayi offer in summer

Kolkata, March 16: Amidst coronavirus scare, the footballing activity over the globe may have temporarily been suspended but the transfer rumour mill is still going strong.

The latest that has been doing rounds involve Chelsea Football Club and their forward Michy Batshuayi who has emerged as a summer target for Crystal Palace.

Batshuayi spent the second half of the last season with Palace, but went back to Chelsea at the start of the season.

Due to Chelsea's earlier transfer ban, Frank Lampard kept most of the players at his disposal, however the Belgian forward has remained out of favour.

So far, he has found his game time extremely limited under Lampard at the Stamford Bridge and he has mostly been a back-up to Tammy Abraham in the line-up. In fact, it is fair to say he has had miserable campaign so far, scoring just one league goal in 16 appearances.

It is understood that Chelsea now could look to cash in on him in summer. The Blues were asking for a fee of £45m for Batshuayi in the January transfer window, but his price could reduce given his current struggles under Lampard. He will enter the last year of his contract this summer and the Eagles will hope to make a swoop in a cut-price deal.

Why it is a good move for all parties involved

Under Roy Hodgson's guidance, Palace so far have evolved as a team who play with one of the most direct and simplistic tactical set-ups in the Premier League.

In a 4-4-2 formation, Jordan Ayew has dazzled with his work-rate this season, but surely he could be more lethal with someone like Batshuayi playing alongside him in the final third.

He did a very good job while on loan at Selhurst Park where he scored five goals in nine Premier League starts, and also netted in the FA Cup quarter-finals. If Palace can manage a deal on cheap, he could be a good addition.