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Michy Batshuayi’s loan deal with Valencia has been cut short after the Chelsea outcast failed to establish himself at the Mestalla, and now Everton have been tipped to swoop for the 25-year-old.
The Belgian international saw his career stagnate upon his arrival in England back in 2016, but usurped all expectations when he joined Borussia Dortmund for the second half of last season. The move looked to have worked wonders for Batshuayi’s chances back in the Premier League.
It turned out not to be the case, however, and once again the former Marseille man is looking to impress out on loan. With that in mind, Football FanCast consider the potential consequences of Everton winning the race to land his signature…
Check out Neymar’s controversial new haircut for 2019 and Xherdan Shaqiri as you’ve never seen him before in the video below…
Finally replacing Lukaku
It may be one and a half years since Manchester United signed Romelu Lukaku from Everton for £76.2million, but the Toffees are yet to adequately replace the Belgium international.
Cenk Tosun, Sandro Ramirez and Wayne Rooney were all signed with the money received, but none managed to really establish themselves at Goodison Park.
Rooney swiftly headed for the exit door after a year, while Ramirez was shipped out on loan after only managing to score a single goal in England. Tosun, meanwhile, stuck around but has been a fringe player under Marco Silva.
Should he land Batshuayi, even on loan, Marcel Brands would finally solve this problem position for his head coach.
A change of formation
While potential club-record signing Richarlison was brought to Merseyside as a winger, the lack of a potent striker has seen Silva shift the Brazilian into the middle and he flourished at first.
The 21-year-old may have found the net less frequently in recent weeks, but with fellow summer signing Bernard and former Arsenal mainstay Theo Walcott often underperforming, the possible arrival of Batshuayi could signal a change of formation to include two strikers sitting ahead of Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Both Batshuayi and Richarlison have shown throughout their careers that they are great at linking with teammates, taking on defenders and scoring goals, while Sigurdsson excels when creating chances behind a mobile forward – so why not make it two?
Challenge for Europe
For all of Silva’s hard work the Toffees are currently short of Europa League qualifying Arsenal, who sit pretty on 41 points.
That could soon change, however, if a top-draw talent were to arrive at Goodison Park, with the clubs currently ahead of Everton all showing weaknesses that need addressing and the Toffees offering arguably the best squad outside the so-called top-six.
Arsenal, in particular, have shown a magnitude of flaws since their remarkable unbeaten streak came to an abrupt end in December away to Southampton, and the Gunners will likely leak further points before the rot is stopped.
With Batshuayi up front, Everton would have the firepower to make some serious ground on Arsenal and the rest of the Europa League hopefuls.