Michy
Batshuayi has hinted he will return to Crystal Palace for a second loan
spell from Chelsea.
Palace are in talks with Chelsea over bringing the Belgium striker back to
Selhurst Park on a season-long loan.
Batshuayi, whose contract expires next summer, is set to sign a 12-month
extension to his current Chelsea deal.
But speaking after scoring twice in his country's 5-1 thrashing of Iceland
in the Nations League on Tuesday, he appeared to confirm his return to south
London may indeed be imminent.
"Am I going to re-sign at Chelsea to be loaned to Crystal Palace? You're on
the right track when you say that. It's something like that," the
26-year-old told Belgian broadcaster RTBF.
"The most important thing for me is to have playing time for me and to be
ready when I come to the national team."
It would be a second loan spell to Selhurst Park in three seasons for the
26-year-old. He scored six goals in 13 appearances in the second half of the
2018/19 season.
Batshuayi has dropped to fourth choice in the pecking order at Chelsea
behind Timo Werner, Olivier Giroud and Tammy Abraham.
He did not play a single minute under Frank Lampard after a substitute
appearance against Bournemouth on February 29.
Palace struggled for goals last season with a return of 31 from 38 Premier
League matches. Their top goalscorer was Jordan Ayew on nine.
If Palace sign Batshuayi, it would prevent them bringing in Chelsea
midfielder Conor Gallagher on loan as Premier League rules stipulate a club
cannot loan more than one player from another club in a transfer window.
Palace plan Boga bid if Zaha leaves
Palace are lining up Sassuolo forward Jeremie Boga as a replacement for
Wilfried Zaha.
Zaha is determined to leave Selhurst Park during the current transfer window
and Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and Monaco have all shown an
interest in the 27-year-old.
If Zaha gets his wish and exits Palace, Roy Hodgson's side are set to target
Boga - but are likely to face stiff competition for the Ivory Coast
international.
Napoli have already offered £27m for Boga, while Rennes tabled a £20m offer
earlier this week. Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen are also set to enter the
bidding, with Sassuolo asking for more than £30m.
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