Michy Batshuayi reveals Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea contact
Borussia Dortmund favourite Michy Batshuayi has confirmed that there have been discussions with Chelsea about the possibility of him returning to Germany next season.
The 24-year-old Belgian proved an instant hit at Dortmund after joining them on loan from the English Premier League club in January – scoring nine goals in 14 matches across all competitions.
The striker’s club season was cut short, however, when he suffered ankle ligament damage in the 2-0 Revierderby defeat against Schalke on 15 April. That meant Batshuayi returned to his parent club early, but last month Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said he would be keen to have him back next season.
On Friday, Batshuayi indicated that Chelsea and Dortmund have since been discussing his future.
“There’s already been contact – some phone calls,” Batshuayi said at a Belgium press conference.
“But I’m not in the know about what’s being said. It’s down to them to talk, and afterwards there’ll be a decision. But I can’t answer right now because I have the World Cup first.”
Speaking ahead of Belgium's friendly with Portugal next week, Batshuayi also revealed how much he had enjoyed his short spell in Germany.
"It was a long time since I had strung a lot of matches together like that,” he said of his time with Dortmund.
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“When I think about Chelsea, I don’t think I ever played two matches back-to-back. Once I arrived at Dortmund, I was given a very warm welcome. I was shown a lot of faith and a lot of love, and when a player gets that he’s no longer the same player.
"I was always going to play well on the pitch because I wanted to repay them for the faith they had in me.
“So it was a very good period. I learned a lot, and I enjoyed it a lot. It was really good.”
After his injury, Batshuayi was initially told that he would have no chance of playing at the World Cup. Having made a swift recovery, however, he will now hope to feature in group games against Panama, Tunisia and England next month - before potentially returning to the Bundesliga.