From an ill-fitting, misfiring outcast under Antonio Conte at Chelsea to one of the most in-form strikers in Europe, Michy Batshuayi was in fine fettle for Borussia Dortmund at the end of last season.
The Belgian scored two goals on his Europa League debut for the German side and went on to score nine goals in 14 appearances after leaving the Blues on loan in January.
He’s now scored at the World Cup too, grabbing the fifth in a 5-2 win over Tunisia for Belgium.
It was a hot streak that seemed inconceivable for a player who struggled to complete a pass in London prior to his temporary move across the channel.
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The super sub who scored the goal that confirmed Chelsea as Premier League champions in 2016/17 found it hard going without confidence or the trust of his manager back at Stamford Bridge.
A £33.2million signing from Marseille in the summer of 2016, the Blues beat Crystal Palace, West Ham, and Juventus to his signature, but having tried and failed to use him as a stand-in for Diego Costa and Alvaro Morata up front, Conte turned to other options in the transfer market, sparking off a wide-ranging hunt to sign a new target man to lead the line for the Italian.
In truth, it was a pursuit that began in pre-season as the manager made Fernando Llorente a priority target only to lose out to Tottenham Hotspur on deadline day.
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“For me, the striker is a point of reference,” he said in July 2017. “For me, if the striker waits in the right position where I want him to stay then it is easier for us to play good football.”
Batshuayi was talked up as a young player with great potential but it was clear that his manager believed there was work to be done for the Belgian to become the figurehead required of the team’s system.
In the end, Olivier Giroud was signed as to be the center-forward to stay high up the field and hold up the ball to bring others into play, rather than a fast-footed poached to get behind and cause issues in the box.
That was Batshuayi’s specialty, after all.
Yet despite the calls to see him line up with a strike partner to get the best out of the 24-year-old in England, he hasn’t been deployed in a front two at Dortmund.
He is being used as a lone striker, a like-for-like replacement for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who left the Bundesliga for Arsenal in January.
What did Peter Stöger do differently to get a tune out of a player who seemed to be going backward for Chelsea just a few months ago – and what can the Blues learn from how he has been used by the German side to get the best out of him on his return next season?
To find out, football. london spoke to Borussia Dortmund expert Lars Pollmann on how Batshuayi settled into the side.
Hi Lars. How has Batshuayi fit into the Dortmund formation?
It’s somewhere between 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1, depending on the positioning of Marco Reus and Mario Götze. Batshuayi is always the lone out-and-out striker, but at times someone will play as a secondary striker situationally.
Conte wants his strikers to hold the ball up, is that something that was expected of Batshuayi at Dortmund?
Batshuayi’s ability to do that has been the pleasant surprise as opposed to the goalscoring which was kind of expected given his record in France and even in limited opportunities at Chelsea.
His physicality has been a huge plus, especially when compared to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who’s more of a channel runner.
With Dortmund having some buildup issues (it’s slow, deliberate and generally terrible) under Peter Stöger, Batshuayi’s ability to hold the ball up in the final third with his back to the goal was of vital importance.
Do you think he needs a second striker with him?
No, not really. Dortmund doesn’t have a real second striker to play around him anyway.
Which players has he been linking up with the best?
Götze assisted both goals vs Atalanta in the first leg of the Europa League tie last week but Batshuayi seems to have a good understanding with everyone basically.
Andre Schürrle’s (relative) resurgence of the last few weeks has something to do with the more direct approach with a physical striker up front I’d say.
Reus’ comeback from injury has coincided with Batshuayi’s arrival and they’ve linked up here and there too.
Conte seemed to suggest he needs to work more off the ball. Has he been doing that?
He put in the work, yes. He wrestled the ball from Remo Freuler deep in his own half for the opener of Schürrle vs Atalanta last week, for example. He’s much more involved than Aubameyang was in general.
Do you think Dortmund will look to sign him in the summer?
They might try but it seems incredibly unlikely. Dortmund’s most expensive signing is still Schürrle for only €30million. That might get you Batshuayi’s left leg in this market.
Bundesliga clubs simply don’t spend so much money on transfers. Bayern’s record signing is only slightly over €40million.
I could see Dortmund try and stretch themselves completely to make a would-be record-breaking offer, but Chelsea typically isn’t the easiest negotiating partners so any long-term deal would surprise me.
Dortmund also has set the internal rule of “no more exit clauses” so even a deal that would allow Chelsea to get Batshuayi back for a certain fee would seem unlikely.
How have the fans taken to him?
Dortmund wanted him in 2014 when he was at Standard Liege so it’s no surprise they went back for him in a time of need. He made people forget about Aubameyang very quickly.
Whether that’s warranted or more about Aubameyang’s exit strategy is a question everyone will have their own answer for.
This was confirmed by football facts and statistics website on their verified Twitter handle on Wednesday.
