Everton have looked into signing former Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi and have discovered whether he is open to moving to Goodison Park, according to a trusted source.
Batshuayi has had something of a journeyman career, representing clubs in Belgium, France, England, Germany, Spain and Turkey. His Premier League experience comes from spells at Chelsea and Crystal Palace.
Batshuayi was on Chelsea’s books between July 2016 and September 2022. He had several loan spells in that time though, which meant he only made 77 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions. He managed to score 25 times for the Blues.
The attacker was on loan at Palace from January 2019 until May 2021. His record for the south London side stood at eight goals in 33 matches.
When returning to Chelsea in summer 2022, Batshuayi signalled his desire to achieve a permanent transfer elsewhere so he could finally settle down and not go out on loan every season. He ended up joining Turkish side Fenerbahce, after spending last season on loan at their Super Lig rivals Besiktas.
The Belgium international has excelled for Fenerbahce this term, bagging 15 goals in just 22 games so far. That includes three strikes as Fenerbahce qualified from their Europa League group in first place.
His performances in Turkey seem to have alerted Premier League clubs about a possible return to England. According to The Athletic journalist David Ornstein, new Everton boss Dyche has ‘explored’ the possibility of capturing Batshuayi from Fenerbahce.
Everton made contact to see if the player would be open to the move. However, their advances have been pushed back.
Centre-forward rejects Everton approach
Ornstein reports that Batshuayi is happy where he is and does not want to join the Merseyside club. He has finally found stability in his career and is enjoying playing under manager Jorge Jesus.
He would only have left Fenerbahce if an enticing proposal came in from a stable side. Given Everton’s financial problems and protests against the owners, they clearly do not fit into this category.
Dyche is eager to bolster Everton’s striker ranks before the transfer window closes. This is because they have only scored 15 goals in 20 Premier League matches so far this season.
However, he will not be able to add Batshuayi to his squad. As such, Dyche and Everton may have to turn to a Serie A forward.