Despite the striker still being contracted to the club, Antonio Conte has signed his Diego Costa replacement, bringing in fellow Spaniard Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid for a club-record fee.

Chelsea have also been heavily linked with a move for Swansea’s Fernando Llorente since January and those rumours have resurfaced in recent weeks. Those links have brought up another question that nags at Conte’s squad: What’s the deal with Michy Batshuayi?

The 23-year old Belgian had a wonderful campaign given his limited opportunities and scored the goal that clinched the Premier League title for Conte's side last term. Batshuayi scored nine goals in 28 appearances and assisted three more in only 702 minutes on the pitch.

With a goal every 78 minutes, Batshuayi managed to produce despite his limited playing time as he started only one Premier League game and had 13 league appearances in which he played 10 minutes or less.

Although he has shown significant ability, Antonio Conte just doesn’t seem to rate him and would rather buy a 32-year old to backup his record signing instead of using the £33million option already at his disposal. And that is why Batshuayi should be looking to move on.

The Belgian international would start for the majority of teams in Europe’s top leagues and deserves the playing time that his development requires. Batshuayi recently scored a brace in the ICC match against Arsenal as he continued to show his quality.

Soccer Football - Arsenal v Chelsea - Pre Season Friendly - June 22, 2017 Chelsea's Michy Batshuayi celebrates scoring their second goal with Willian REUTERS/JASON LEE

Blues fans spent the season begging Conte to give the young striker more time on the pitch, but the Italian preferred a stable line-up with Diego Costa up top. The 28-year old striker has now been pushed out of the club and the expensive Alvaro Morata was brought in to fill the role that many expected Batshuayi to step into.

Now Chelsea are after Llorente to support Morata and cut even deeper into the Belgian’s playing time.

Conte could opt to loan the 23-year old to another club as Llorente is surely a short-term solution, but Batshuayi should push for a permanent move if he does leave.

If Chelsea aren't going to give him a proper chance, he should look elsewhere for a club to kick-on what could be a dominating career.

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