It's Time for Chelsea's Michy Batshuayi to Show He's Worth His Transfer Fee

There's a cliche about injured players and when they hit the comeback trail. When they get back into the starting lineup and have an impact on their team's fortunes, the usual line about being like a new signing is rolled out.

Michy Batshuayi hasn't been injured this season. He's just been absent, a factor largely down to Diego Costa's brilliance. We've seen the young Belgian fleetingly—just 13 times all term. He's started a mere two games, each coming in the EFL Cup, and since the beginning of November, the young Belgian has played just 12 minutes of football.

Sold on his physicality and the goal he scored in his second Premier League appearance against Watford way back in August, Chelsea fans have been hungry for more from him. Costa's form has been a big factor in preventing that, yet equally his manager, Antonio Conte, hasn't shied away from the problems Batshuayi has faced.

Now that all has to change. With Costa out for Boxing Day's visit of Bournemouth to Stamford Bridge, Batshuayi has to become a big asset for his manager and his team-mates. He has to impress; he has to give Chelsea something they haven't had all season by showing he's the ideal backup to Costa.

Right now, we simply don't know if he is. The debate that surrounds Batshuayi is too subjective as it's based on impressions of reputation rather than performances, which is something Conte has hinted at when discussing the situation he has faced this term since Batshuayi's £32 million arrival from Marseille.

"I spoke about Michy in the post-match [after Crystal Palace, when Costa picked up his suspension] and said that it's not easy to arrive in this league and play in this league, above all if you are a young player arriving in a new country," the Chelsea manager explained this week.

Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

"For me, it's difficult. But for a young player also. To arrive and adapt to this league—such a tough league, very physical, very strong. But I think Michy is working very well. We must have patience with him, to work with him and try and help him improve.

"And then the next step is for him to play more this season. But I repeat: it's not easy to adapt to this league and arrive here and play [straight away]."

It's the final part of Conte's view that really gets to the point. Chelsea must be patient with any young talent, regardless of price tags, but now we're entering a crucial part of the season. It's during these festive fixtures that the true mettle of a team is laid bare; as the fixtures pile up, squads are stretched and characters tested. It's where the men are separated from the boys.

Moving into January, we see the title race shift into a new gear, and it's a rare instance when a team with just one goalscorer—like Chelsea have in Costa—will go on to not only challenge but win silverware.

In the position Chelsea are in now, it'll be a catastrophic failure if they do not finish in the top two come May. Currently six points clear at the top, they have to be in that conversation or, better still, finish as Premier League champions.

They can only do that with Batshuayi playing the supporting role he was signed for. Chelsea paid £32 million as much for the potential he has as they did to have a striker who's ready for the here and now. Without Costa available, it's not enough for Conte to look at alternatives such as starting Eden Hazard as a makeshift front man.

Chelsea's 3-4-3 isn't built around the principles of false nines. Conte needs a striker to lead the line like Costa, and when he's not around, it's Batshuayi who should be tasked with the responsibility. If the manager doesn't have faith that he can, why sign him at all? Batshuayi has to justify that fee, otherwise it would have surely been wiser to save money and invest in the development of Dominic Solanke or Tammy Abraham.

Steve Bardens/Getty Images

When Conte addressed journalists earlier this week, he showed an understanding for how the English game works. He knows how vital the coming weeks will be to his side's quest for the title, and after the patience they've shown, the next step is for Batshuayi to start shouldering the burden Costa has done with such aplomb.

We don't know the feeling in the Chelsea dressing room regarding that, but former Fulham and Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy—now a pundit for BBC's Match of the Day—gave an interesting perspective in his column for the Evening Standard this week.

"A manager has to ensure that those players who are not his first choice are ready when called upon—and it is one of the hardest jobs in the game," Murphy wrote.

That's where Batshuayi finds himself. He has to be ready. Chelsea can't afford for him not to be.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes