Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has told out-of-favour striker Michy Batshuayi that the only way he will force his way into the side is to 'continue working hard' and prove that he deserves a chance.
The 23-year-old has endured a difficult maiden campaign in West London, failing to start a single Premier League game and featuring for a combined 97 minutes in all from the bench.
Conte is reportedly willing to take a big cut on the £34m spent to sign Batshuayi from Marseille last year by offloading him in the summer, and the Italian is refusing to give him any assurances when it comes to playing time between now and the end of the season.
"The present is the most important thing; to work very hard in the present and live in the present," he told reporters. "At the end of the season we will look at the situation of every single player.
"Now, he's working very well for us. He must continue to work and anything can happen. If he shows me he deserves to play, I'm ready to put him in the starting 11. If that doesn't happen, I will continue in this way."
Diego Costa has been Chelsea's regular starter in the centre-forward position, flanked by two of Pedro, Eden Hazard or Willian in the 3-4-3 system adopted by Conte a quarter of the way through the season.
Daniel Lewis
