There’s a reason for as to why Belgium tops the World Rankings right now and few can doubt their credentials of being at the pinnacle of the charts. It’s all been a product of their ability to produce a wealth of young talents, who ply their trade in Belgium itself, much like Youri Tielemans and young Denis Praet or abroad, such as Romelu Lukaku or Eden Hazard. But, the conveyor belt is never ending and alongside both Praet and Tielemans, there’s another young lad who’s been turning a lot of heads in the Premier League. That too at a young age. He goes by the name of Michy Batshuayi.
Background
Batshuayi is someone who’s played at a lot of clubs already, 7 to be specific and began his footballing career when he was just 10 years of age. During that period, he was picked up by a minor Belgian club- RFC Evere and stayed there for a single season. Continuously through to when he was 15, Batshuayi played at clubs like Brussels and Anderlecht for just single seasons, before finding himself at Standard Liege, which was a club that carried a significant amount of prominence back in 2008. Until he was 18, Batshuayi played for the junior sides at Liege and was handed a professional contract in 2011.
From 2011 to 2014, the young Belgian made 97 appearances for the Liege senior side, scoring as much as 39 times. And his impressive goal scoring abilities attracted interest from Ligue Un giants Marseille who snapped him up in 2014 for a fee in the region of 6 million euros. This season is already turning out to be an impressive one for the 22-year-old striker as he has succeeded in racking up 8 goals in just 13 appearances, catching the eyeballs of the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. Batshuayi is eligible to play for Congo, due to the fact that his parents’ come from the African nation but back in August, Batshuayi decided to play for the Belgian Red Devils, scoring for them on his debut in an EURO Qualifier against Cyprus.
Former Marseille manager Marcelo Bielsa’s rigidness when it comes to selecting squads and playing them, costed Batshuayi a lot of game time and he featured a lot less under the former Bilbao manager than he is right now under Michel. Bielsa was more into sending the same 11 out on the pitch to do the job for him, and the 22-year-old never played enough under him.
Playing Style
Batshuayi always gives an impression of being a more positively selfish and goal getting form of former Monaco and Lyon man Anthony Martial. Unlike Martial, who loves to drive past defenders and rattle them with the help of his pace and acceleration, Batshuayi is someone who does do that but to a lesser extent and is more into hiding behind defences, such that other players can find him and he can score.
He’s 5 feet 11 inches tall and despite size that’s slightly small for a target man, Batshuayi has got very good hold up. He can shield the ball from the opposition, with his back to goal and in a similar situation, can allow others to come closer to the ball and bring them to the play’s fore. His strength, that he often uses to keep hold of the ball facing the midfield, is a quality that makes him more of a complete striker than someone like Aleksandar Mitrovic- the former Anderlecht striker. With the help of this, he can create opportunities too, and doesn’t just limit himself to putting them away. He’s created 13 opportunities this season, assisting thrice.
Although he prefers to use the right foot, but his left foot is just as efficient. His eye for goal and his ambidexterity makes him a man to watch out for in front of goal. He’s got a very threatening burst of pace too, and when it combines with his strength to hold onto the ball, he can be very devastating. He’s completed 1.4 dribbles every game and has a shot accuracy of 64 percent, which is quite impressive. The 22-year-old has the ability to pick out spaces for himself by the corner of his eye and that allows him to turn and shoot to perfection, and quite a bit of his goals have come from devastating turns in the box, to score. Much like Martial, Batshuayi has got a quick pair of feet. You wouldn’t realize that he has gone past you with a subtle change of pace, the shift in body balance or quick movement of legs. He’s more of a poacher than a creator, though, unlike Martial and knows how convert half chances into chances that seemed real chances. His hunger and eye for scoring is truly pleasing. He even played as a winger under Bielsa last season and he likes to drift in and use brutal pace to go past people and beat them comprehensively. This season, he’s played as an out and out striker only.
Future?
Reportedly, Marseille president Vincent Labrune has made it clear that there’s a tag worth 35 million euros appended to his name. Labrune said:
The president said: “There is not a single top 15 world club that is not interested in Batshuayi. He is one of the most wanted players on the market. There were a lot of offers for him this summer, but he did not want to leave. He is proving himself on the pitch. And if clubs want him then they are going to have to pay up – around £35m.” Spurs were interested in signing him in the summer before they ended up landing Clinton N’Jie from Lyon, who’s a bit like Batshuayi himself.
Arsenal, Manchester City and United are said to be interested in acquiring his services too and with a sudden influx of pacy players into the Premier League, Batshuayi could be the next youngster to make his way to England. He needs to keep up his goal scoring rate, and scoring in the region of 20 goals would certainly make sure that he fits into that 35 million price tag.
Comments are closed.