Antonio Conte was at Chelsea for two seasons between 2016 and 2018 and during his time at Stamford Bridge, Michy Batshuayi wasn’t a major player for the Italian.
This led to the Belgium international joining Borussia Dortmund on a loan deal in January 2018 and the forward failed to find a place in the Blues’ squad last season, when Maurizio Sarri was in charge of the west London club.
He joined Valencia on a season-long loan deal, but having struggled with the La Liga side in the first half of the last campaign, his temporary stay was cut short and Crystal Palace signed him on a short-term deal in January.
After the end of last season, the 26-year-old returned to Chelsea, where he’s the second choice striker for manager Frank Lampard, behind top scorer Tammy Abraham.
Despite several loan spells since the start of 2018, Batshuayi told Play Sports he knew he had a place with the Europa League winners.
“Before I left, I knew I had my place at Chelsea. The Premier League is also my favourite league, so I’m happy to be home,” Votebal Belgie quoted Batshuayi as saying.
On fighting with Abraham for a place in the starting XI, he said: “That is frustrating, because everyone wants to play a lot and score a lot.
“That is normal for me to feel that way. Unfortunately, the boss decides and he can only pick eleven players. He is currently opting for other players.”
Batshuayi has scored five goals in all competitions this season and while talking about his targets for this season, he explained: “The goal of this season is to win a trophy with the team and score a lot so the team takes a prize.”
