West Ham United have been given fresh hope of finally landing long term target Michy Batshuayi… by Chelsea boss Antonio Conte.
Batshuayi snubbed West Ham for Chelsea in 2016 after the Hammers had a £30million bid accepted by Marseille.
The Belgian opted for London rivals Chelsea instead but barely been used by Blues boss Antonio Conte this season or last.
As as a result the 24-year-old has been linked with both loan and permanent moves to the London Stadium once again in the summer and the January window.
While midfield is David Moyes’ number one priority this month, the Hammers are reportedly keen to sell strikers Diafra Sakho and Andre Ayew which would leave them with only injury prone Andy Carroll and Javier Hernandez as recognised strikers.
After just two starts this season, Batshuayi wants regular first team football in order to make the Belgium squad for the Russia World Cup.
And now the Hammers have been given encouragement over their chances of signing him after Conte said he would allow the player to leave, as reported by The Telegraph.
“I was a player, I will understand if someone is worried about the World Cup,” Conte said as reported by The Telegraph.
“I understand it’s very important to keep players very happy to stay here to work with us and I think this must be our priority. To keep the players happy to stay with us, to continue to work with us.
“At the same time, I was a player and I will understand if someone is thinking in this way (that they need to play more).”
Conte prefers to play Eden Hazard as a ‘false nine’ ahead of the Belgian when Alvaro Morata has been out for Chelsea this season.
At West Ham he would be a guaranteed starter and would inject some much needed pace and youthful exuberance into an ageing team.
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