Michy Batshuayi to Chelsea: £33m Marseille man snubbed West Ham, Tottenham and Crystal Palace to play for incoming Blues boss Antonio Conte
The 22-year-old Belgium striker was on the verge of joining West Ham on Tuesday night before Chelsea swooped
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ANTONIO CONTE’S pulling power looks set to seal Chelsea’s £33million deal for Michy Batshuayi.
The Belgium striker has snubbed rival Premier League clubs because he is desperate to play for the Blues' new incoming boss with a formidable reputation.
Batshuayi, 22, was on the verge of joining West Ham on Tuesday night in a similar size deal from French club Marseille only to lose out at the last minute when Chelsea swooped.
Crystal Palace and Tottenham were also heavily in for the striker.
And Conte’s reputation as a passionate coach with a superb tactical brain which looks to have swung it Chelsea’s way.
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Conte has not even started work officially yet as coach while he is guiding Italy through Euro 2016 where his country face a quarter final showdown with world champions Germany on Saturday.
But the former Juventus boss has captured fans’ imaginations across the continent with his animated displays from the dugout while coaching Italy through tough games.
Conte climbed onto the dugout roof when Italy completed a surprise 2-0 win over Spain earlier this week to reach the last eight of Euro 2016.
Chelsea were also interested in Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata but have since switched their attention to Batshuayi.
Conte is keen to bring in a young and hungry striker to provide competition for No 1 frontman Diego Costa.
It means Frenchman Loic Remy is on his way along with loanees Pato and Radamel Falcao.
