CHELSEA fans are desperate for Frank Lampard to give Michy Batshuayi the chance to lead the line after he scored twice for the Under-23s last night.
Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud have both started up front for Chelsea so far this season but neither has scored or impressed in the 4-0 defeat to Manchester United or the 1-1 draw with Leicester.
Batshuayi has not started a league game for Chelsea since January 2018 and has since spent time on loan at Borussia Dortmund, Valencia and Crystal Palace.
But with Alvaro Morata and Eden Hazard's departures over the summer and a transfer ban that will last until the end of the season, Lampard has been forced to look within for solutions to Chelsea's attacking problems.
Abraham was prolific for Aston Villa last season with 25 Championship goals in 37 appearances but has never scored for Chelsea in the Premier League and only managed five in 31 for Swansea while on loan two years ago.
It leaves the two-time England international with a goals-to-game ratio of just 0.15 in the top flight while Batshuayi's stands at nearly double: 0.28.
Giroud's career ratio in England is the best of the lot – 0.35 – but since joining Chelsea from Arsenal back in January 2018 he has scored just once every nine appearances.
And Batshuayi's double for the Under-23s last night, where Lampard watched on as Antonio Rudiger also made it through 90 minutes, has left Blues fans begging for the Belgian to be given his shot when they take on Norwich City on Saturday.
One Twitter user with the handle @CFCMod_ wrote: "Okay so we've seen a bit of Tammy and a bit of Giroud. It's only fair that we see a bit of Michy and that he's given an equal opportunity despite my doubts about him. I see no harm in it whatsoever."
Another, @RobertLHowe, said: "Batshuayi deserves a chance. We've got nothing to lose."
Batshuayi himself took to Twitter to celebrate his return to form, writing: "Good for confidence. Let's goo Chelsea."
But it remains to be seen whether the Chelsea manager himself will be swayed by the stats or the pleas of fans to give the 25-year-old a chance to shine.
Lampard said on Sunday: "I thought Tammy did well last week and unfortunately, he didn’t get his goal.
"If he gets that goal and the ball goes in off the post it’s a completely different feeling for him.
"It will be a season where I’ve got competition up there and Oli scored in the week, did well against Liverpool so I’ve just gone with him.
"I’ve got choices, it’s the same in midfield. It was difficult to take [Mateo] Kovacic out for [the Leicester game]… midfield is very busy for us with good players and good choices and he didn’t deserve at all not to be playing but I have to make decisions and that’s what I’ve gone with."
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