UK Edition
Monaco target Michy Batshuayi after swooping for Chelsea team-mate Cesc Fabregas
Monaco want Michy Batshuayi to join his old Chelsea team-mate Cesc Fabregas in France after the striker had his loan cut short by Valencia.
Fabregas is completing his move to Monaco on a three-and-a-half-year deal as Chelsea deliberate over whether or not to sign Nicolo Barella or Leandro Paredes as the Spaniard’s replacement.
Chelsea have agreed deals in principle for both Cagliari’s Barella and Zenit St Petersburg’s Paredes, but are considering which man would best replace Fabregas or, if in fact, they need a new midfielder.
The Blues must think about the likelihood of signing Mateo Kovacic on a permanent deal following his season-long loan from Real Madrid, while they already have Jorginho, Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek on their books.
Fabregas was made to wait to tie up the formalities of his Monaco switch, but he has the green light to complete the move after Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri gave it his blessing.
Monaco now want Batshuayi to team up with Fabregas in Ligue 1, initially on loan to the end of the season. The Belgian is well known to manager Thierry Henry after the pair worked together with the Belgium national team and it was Monaco sporting director Michael Emenalo who took Batshuayi to Chelsea.
Everton are interested in a deal to take Batshuayi to Goodison Park, but would have to sign either him or defender Kurt Zouma, who is on loan from with the Toffees, permanently to do so. Crystal Palace have also enquired about Batshuayi in the past, while the 25-year-old also has admirers, other than Monaco, from overseas.
On Monaco’s pursuit of Batshuayi, Henry said: “We have worked together with Belgium. We will see what happens. But he could be an interesting player. For sure.”