The Curious Case of Michy Batshuayi

Last week I was watching Belgium in their last 16 match against Hungary. I was interested to see Michy Batshuayi come on toward the final 15 minutes of the game because the (at the time) Spurs target had been vocal of his intent to join our Champions League qualified contingent.

Article by Locky Peters @loque91

I had not seen much of the striker apart from a few YouTube videos – but I was optimistic. Within minutes – and with his first touch of the game – Batshuayi scores, Hazard had placed a perfect, if not simple, cross following a corner and the young Belgian finished coolly.

Now the rest of what I have to say may sound like sour grapes to some, and perhaps some of my grapes have soured. I wanted Batshuayi at Tottenham, I thought he was a great prospect. But now that he seems poised to join Chelsea, my opinion of the guy has differed.

First of all, I was not impressed by his celebrations after scoring against Hungary. He ran to the sideline by himself and did a front flip for the cameras. He didn’t turn around to face his fellow players – this was his moment. The guy had scored a tap in. His teammate had done the real work. Sure he had put his team in a commanding position, sure it was his first at a major tournament and yes it was his first touch. It just made me feel uneasy about him, immediately I was unsure of his fitting in at Spurs – especially if he were to be playing second fiddle more often than not. Could this guy contain his ego? Did we want a guy who celebrates a tap-in with a flip rather than with his teammates? I don’t know.

In the days following Belgium’s win, it became clear that talks between Tottenham and Batshuayi had broken down. At the time of writing it seems the player is very close to signing for Chelsea, having even completed a medical. An article in the Mirror claimed that Daniel Levy and co. had decided against securing a £31m deal that would have seen the Belgian International earning around £100,000 a week.

This seems to me to be the correct course of action. The potential problems seem obvious. We would have had a player coming in, who for me has demonstrated a certain kind of ego (for more evidence see what he posted to twitter following his goal against Hungary) that would have only been cemented by his pay bracket. He would have been earning £20,000 more than Dembele and Loris per week and surely not been starting ahead of Harry Kane. Who would have even wanted him to be starting ahead of Kane? This would have led to problems in the dressing room and the potential of having another Adebayor – that might seem like hyperbole but who knows right? Not only that, but if some young guy from League One comes in and starts earning more than everyone else without even being tested – what then for Christian Eriksen, Eric Dier or Danny Rose, certainly they need to be on £100,000 a week as well?

I’m glad the club didn’t go ahead with the deal. There needs to be a culture surrounding the players at the club where it means so much for them to be wearing the shirt. Yes our players need to be paid a fair wage considering what they could be offered elsewhere – but they also need to be made aware that it is a privilege to play for this club. An impression I was not getting from a player like Batshuayi. But an impression I was getting from the entire Spurs squad in the last season. Everyone was fighting for the club. For the shirt. It would have made Bill Nick proud.

As I said at the outset – call my comments sour grapes if you will. I remember having similar emotions when Loic Remy went to Chelsea instead of Spurs a few seasons ago - and look how he is doing these days. Transfer season is about as exciting as it is annoying sometimes, and it seems the Michy Batshuayi episode has come to an end. We do need another striker at Tottenham, perhaps even two, but they must be able to accommodate themselves into an already functioning squad. We do not need a hero or a braggart. We need a hard working and talented player who can inject a spark when needed – not someone who is searching for the limelight or for more money. Fingers crossed that Vincent Jaansen is that player.

Who would be your ideal signing this summer? Do you think Tottenham have made a mistake in missing out on Batshuayi? Comment below or tweet one at me @loque91 or @e_spurs_aus.

You can find me on Twitter @loque91 and for all your Spurs needs follow e-Spurs on Twitter, Facebook and all other internet platforms! The e-Spurs Podcast is also out twice weekly, so get on board!

© e-Media Group 2016 All rights reserved no part of this document or this website may be reproduced without consent of @e_media_group

Share on Google Plus