Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi will have to take a pay cut this summer if he is to secure a move away from Stamford Bridge.
The Belgian striker has found himself on the periphery under Frank Lampard this season, with the Blues coach preferring other players ahead of him.
Even an injury crisis with Chelsea’s forwards did not earn him more game time earlier in the campaign, with Lampard instead electing to play wingers Pedro and Willian as forwards ahead of playing Batshuayi.
It has been clear for several months that a move away is on the cards this summer and the arrival of Timo Werner from RB Leipzig has only made that more inevitable.
Het Laatste Nieuws cover the situation today and say Batshuayi is ‘lucky’ to even be in Chelsea’s ‘core 20’ with the club considering him ‘no more than padding’.
They explain his time in London ‘is coming to an end’ and Chelsea are actively seeking a buyer for the striker.
However, that’s easier said than done in a ‘collapsed market’ with clubs playing it smart after losing significant chunks of income due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
One major problem is Batshuayi’s wages. HLN claim he earns €120,000 a week at Stamford Bridge and is thus in a ‘comfort zone’ at the club.
That’s the kind of pay packet that few other clubs are going to give him and he’ll have to ‘give up’ some of it if he wants to find regular playing time elsewhere.
How much he’ll have to forego isn’t mentioned, but it’s likely to be a significant amount if his earnings are as high as HLN state they are.
The figure given seems to be a little high if you ask us but, Chelsea have been known to spend their cash a little wildly in the past too.
