Potential replacements for Michy Batshuayi at Chelsea

Batsh
Batshuayi has never lived up to expectations at Chelsea.

Though Alvaro Morata has been misfiring lately, his performances as a whole this season have been impressive after his club record transfer from Spanish giants Real Madrid.

However, Chelsea's struggles have looked even more pronounced due to Antonio Conte's lack of faith in Michy Batshuayi.

The Belgian has not been good enough for the standards expected of the current English champions and has never come close to justifying his purchase from Olympique Marseille.

The Blues will need to invest some money into bringing in a new striking partner/competitor for Morata.

Here is a look at 5 relatively cheap options

#1 Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)

Chelsea v Leicester City - Premier League
Vardy has proved he is a constant goalscorer in Premier League.

Leicester's front-man was linked to the Londoners in the summer window and is still a very good option. He has been in good goalscoring form this season, having scored already 9 league goals till now, just one less than Alvaro Morata.

He helped Leicester to win the Premier League in the 2015/2016 season and was runner-up to Harry Kane in the Golden Boot table for the same season.

Thus, he is familiar with the league and also is best suited to Chelsea as he is good with his pace, ball control and finishing.

Vardy can play as a target man, hold the ball up and create good linkup play with attacking players such as Eden Hazard and Willian.

The England international would cost around £25m, which will be a bargain in the current market rates. In Vardy, Chelsea will also get a player to help with the club's homegrown quota.

#2 Charlie Austin (Southampton)

Aust
Austin is in good form this season at Southampton.

Charlie Austin is a 28-year old English born striker who will be suitable for Chelsea as a backup option for Morata.

He will be relatively cheap and Chelsea will be able to add to its list of English players.

He was not playing regularly last season but with the arrival of the new manager; Mauricio Pellegrino, Austin has come back into the starting eleven and is scoring goals regularly with 6 so far.

Moreover, he is physically strong and will able to play as a target man. His heading abilities make him an ideal target for the Blues as the team usually puts many crosses into the box.

His current market value is estimated at £12m.

#3 Ciro Immobile (SS Lazio)

Spal v SS Lazio - Serie A
Immobile has been in the form of his life at Lazio this season

The 27- year old Lazio striker has been on fire this season having scored 26 goals and recorded 7 assists already this season.

He is scoring a goal every 78 minutes this season, which is an impressive figure.

The Italian international has a similar playing style to that of Morata. Although primarily deployed as a striker, Immobile is capable of playing anywhere along the front-line and is renowned for his quick offensive movement and ability to exploit spaces.

Chelsea's manager Antonio Conte has previously worked with Immobile when he was in charge of the Italian national side, which means the striker is already familiar with the style of Conte which will aid his adaptation if the move to Stamford Bridge materializes.

His current market value is estimated to be around £30 million.

#4 Dries Mertens (SSC Napoli)

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Mertens is a key player for Napoli and Chelsea will find it difficult to prise him from Naples

The 30-year old Belgian attacker, who can play as a striker or a winger has been in superlative form in Serie A with Napoli.

He has already scored 13 goals and provided 9 assists in all competition so far this season.

Due to his diminutive size, Mertens is able to operate in pockets of space in and around the opposition's penalty area as shown by his tally of 60 goals from 150 matches for Napoli since joining the club in 2013 from PSV.

If Chelsea can secure his services, he can definitely form a great partnership with Eden Hazard as they know each other very well, having played for Belgium together.

Mertens is very good when it comes to finishing, making attacking runs, dribbling, long shots and holding on to the ball. In him, Chelsea will get a top goal scorer who is also good at playing in multiple positions if needed.

He may be available for an amount in the range of £30-£40 million.

#5 Aritz Adruiz (Athletic Bilbao)

A
Adruiz can provide invaluable experience for Chelsea in attack

The Spaniard is already 36-years of age but he is still a very good backup option until Tammy Abraham becomes solid enough to lead the front-line alongside Morata.

An eternal goal-getter, Adruiz offers more of an aerial threat than Chelsea's previous target Llorente and the team's current main man; Morata.

The Bilbao striker has scored a total of 12 goals and provided 2 assists in all competitions so far this season and has won 3.6 aerial duels per game this season.

He provides a great combination of technique and experience as he has played more than 200 matches for Bilbao since joining the team in 2012. He has also scored more than 100 goals in all competitions.

He has also represented Spanish national team 13 times and scored twice and given the fact that young sensation Abraham still needs time to grow away from the spotlight, Adruiz seems a great signing that can provide a superb backup plan for manager Antonio Conte.

His current market value will be just around £1.5 million as he is in the final year of his contract and also given his age.

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Edited by Omene Osuya
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