Crystal Palace snapped up £33m striker Michy Batshuayi from Premier League rivals Chelsea on loan on transfer deadline day.
Crystal Palace will be hoping that their goalscoring problems have just come to an end with the deadline-day signing of Michy Batshuayi on loan from Chelsea for the rest of the season.
Despite speculation linking him with a number of other Premier League clubs, Palace swooped in before the 11pm deadline to bring the Belgium World Cup semi-finalist to Selhurst Park.
Batshuayi might have struggled in the final third during an ill-fated spell at Valencia in the first half of the season but there is no doubt that he could be a substantial upgrade on Alexander Sorloth, Jordan Ayew or his bumbling compatriot Christian Benteke.
And, speaking on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast on talkSPORT (1 February, 8.30am), former Crystal Palace striker Kevin Phillips has backed the 23-year-old to forge a fine partnership with Andros Townsend and Wilfried Zaha – and help The Eagles soar up the table.
“(Palace) do create chances with Townsend one side and Zaha the other, they just struggle to put the ball in the back of the net,” said Phillips, whose play-off final penalty fired Palace into the Premier League in 2013.
“(Batshuayi’s) goalscoring record hasn’t been great since he came to this country but he went out on loan to Dortmund last season and scored nine goals in 14 games. So he can score goals. He just needs to play football.
“I think they’ve got enough quality in that squad now with the addition of Batshuayi to climb the table.”
Batshuayi might have always been seen as an afterthought at Chelsea but he has a decent record when included in the starting XI and he will be chomping at the bit to prove that both Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri were wrong to discard him.
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