Should Everton renew interest in Chelsea’s Batshuayi after Conte snub?

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Chelsea chose to replace Alvaro Morata with Willian rather than Michy Batshuayi against Manchester City – could Everton use that to their advantage?

Antonio Conte, manager of Chelsea, gives his team instructions during the Premier League match against Manchester City.

When Alvaro Morata signalled to the Chelsea bench that he could not continue after 35 minutes during the Premier League clash with Manchester City, manager Antonio Conte’s response was telling.

In a game that was still 0-0 at that point the Italian decided to send on Willian to replace Morata, partnering him with Eden Hazard in attack to leave the Blues with no recognised striker.

Michy Batshuayi of Chelsea takes the ball away from John Stones of Manchester City.

This is despite the fact Michy Batshuayi was sitting alongside the Brazilian on the substitutes’ bench and would have to wait until the 73rd minute to be called upon – by which point City had already scored what would be the eventual winner and were well and truly in control.

It was a decision that effectively points to the fact that Conte doesn’t trust Batshuayi to lead the line, as further highlighted by the pursuit of Fernando Llorente in January and over the summer – as reported by Goal – before the Spaniard eventually joined Tottenham Hotspur.

This is hardly good news for the player for as long as he is under the 48-year-old’s management at Stamford Bridge, but could be for Everton – a side that the Liverpool Echo claims were looking at the Belgium international as a potential Romelu Lukaku replacement in August.

Romelu Lukaku (L) of Manchester United celebrates scoring his side’s fourth goal during the Premier League match against Crystal Palace.

Batshuayi may have been given limited opportunities by his current club, but still has 14 goals in 36 appearances for the West Londoners, of which only 12 were starts.

The Toffees, meanwhile, are struggling to find the back of the net with their 1-0 home defeat to Burnley leaving them 16th in the table having scored just four time in seven league matches. Only bottom-placed Crystal Palace and Swansea City have scored fewer.

Losing topscorer Lukaku to Manchester United over the summer was a major blow to the Merseysiders’ attack, but in fellow Belgian Batshuayi perhaps they could find the answer. Plus, Conte is unlikely to stand in the way of a potential departure of the 23-year-old.