Chelsea Could Reportedly Use Michy Batshuayi in Thomas Lemar Deal

Chelsea could reportedly use out-of-favour forward Michy Batshuayi as a makeweight in their attempts to sign winger Thomas Lemar from Monaco.

According to Matt Law in the Telegraph, the Blues are considering making a bid in January for the £80 million-rated Lemar, and that could open the door for Batshuayi to leave Stamford Bridge on loan, possibly going the other way to Stade Louis II.

Batshuayi, 24, moved to Chelsea from Marseille for £33 million in the summer of 2016.

He netted the goal that sealed the Premier League title for the Blues in May but has largely been overlooked by manager Antonio Conte.

In 2016-17, the Italian manager regularly opted to use Eden Hazard as a false nine rather than deploy Batshuayi when Diego Costa was not fit.

And the trend continued in Chelsea's 3-1 defeat of Huddersfield Town on Tuesday as Hazard played in the centre-forward role as a replacement for the injured Alvaro Morata.

In 2017-18, Batshuayi has started only twice in the Premier League and once in the UEFA Champions League.

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Chelsea have emerged as alternative contenders to sign Lemar, 22, with the Frenchman having been heavily linked to Arsenal and Liverpool, per Simon Johnson in the Evening Standard.

The Blues would benefit from adding some depth to their squad given they will still be contending on multiple fronts domestically and in Europe at the start of next year.

Batshuayi does not seem to have the trust of Conte, but Lemar would likely be a much more useful option given he can play multiple positions in the front line.

Lemar emerged as one of the most exciting attacking prospects in Europe as he netted nine goals and assisted 10 in Monaco's Ligue 1-winning season in 2016-17.