Rangers have been linked with a shock move to sign Fenerbahce forward Michy Batshuayi during the January transfer window.
We have already seen one striker arrive at Ibrox this month with Fabio Silva joining on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Philippe Clement may yet want another striker though with Danilo out injured and Kemar Roofe sadly unreliable with his injury woes.
We are now seeing some bizarre rumours surrounding a potential move to sign Fenerbahce striker Michy Batshuayi.
This one is surely a non-starter due to wages but Clement is being linked with a stunning bid for his fellow Belgian this month.
Michy Batshuayi, the story so far
Batshuayi bounced around a number of Belgian clubs in his early days, spending time with Brussels and Anderlecht before finding his way to Standard Liege in 2009.
That’s where Batshuayi started to kick on and he ended up becoming one of the top young strikers in Europe, smashing 44 goals in 120 games for Standard.
Marseille came calling 2014 and the goals continued to flow with the Belgian hitting 33 goals in 78 outings, sparking a huge £33million move to Chelsea in 2016.
25 goals in 77 games for the Blues isn’t a bad ratio, but Batshuayi was just never able to nail down a regular role in the Chelsea side.
Most of his time ended up being spent out on loan, enjoying a stunning spell at Borussia Dortmund in 2018.
Stints with Valencia, Crystal Palace (twice) and Besiktas saw Batshuayi blow hot and cold before finally leaving Chelsea for good in 2022.
Batshuayi – who has racked up 27 goals in 52 games for Belgium – scored 20 goals in his first Fenerbahce season but has only started one league game this season.
Michy Batshuayi player profile
- Age: 30
- Date of birth: 02/10/1993
- Position: Striker
- Club: Fenerbahce
- Former clubs: Standard Liege, Marseille, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Valencia, Crystal Palace, Besiktas
- Nationality: Belgian
- Contract: Until June 2024
Gijs Smal, what they say
“It was interesting to see not just the player – I kind of knew the quality Michy had and it’s always good to see that up close – but also the personality. Since early season, how he’s trained, his demeanour, his positivity, and quality when he’s come on, which is obviously the most important thing, have been top class. He’s positive, hard-working, loves scoring goals,” –Former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard.
“Michy Batshuayi has proven again that he is a real goal-scorer and his performances in the national team speak for themselves,” – Former Belgium boss Roberto Martinez.
“You can see how much quality he has – not only footballing quality, but also the way he focuses. It’s a new environment for him, but he’s shown he does not care [about that]. He wants to do his job and is good for us. I think that he’s a bit crazy. I only say Batman and other things. But all is good,” – Former Dortmund teammate Lukasz Piszczek.
“There is no doubt he’s a very talented footballer, an excellent striker of the ball and he’s a player that we know, if we can get the ball to his feet in the right areas, with the goal in his sights, he’s capable of scoring,” – Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson.
Michy Batshuayi to Rangers analysis
Batshuayi maybe hasn’t lived up to the billing he had at Marseille, but he has still carved out a very decent career for himself around Europe.
This would be an enormous signing for Rangers and one which would really capture the imagination of Gers supporters.
Batshuayi hit 20 goals last season and has been prolific in a Belgium shirt, so we can only imagine that he would cause mayhem against Scottish Premiership defenders.
We just can’t see how Rangers can afford Batshuayi’s wages, especially with Fenerbahce unlikely to help out given that he inside the final six months of his contract.
This seems like a bit of a pipe dream signing for Rangers this month and we would be stunned to see Batshuayi turn up at Ibrox any time soon.
