Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson is looking forward to working with Michy Batshuayi and is hopeful he can move on from a disappointing loan spell with Valencia, football.london report.
The Chelsea forward joined Palace on loan on deadline day in January after spending the first half of the season on loan with Valencia; where he scored just one La Liga goal in 15 appearances, though he only made four starts.
Batshuayi has struggled for first team football since his £33million move to Chelsea in 2016, and spent last season on loan with Borussia Dortmund, prior to his spell in La Liga.
The Belgium international enjoyed his time in the Bundesliga, however, scoring seven goals in 10 league appearances, and Hodgson will be hoping the striker rediscovers that form for the Eagles.
And the Palace boss believes Batshuayi will be a good fit for Palace this season and put his struggles with Valencia behind him.
It is one fairly short period [at Valencia], but to be fair to him, he has moved around a lot, and he has shown he doesn’t just want to be part of a squad and earning money, he wants to go and play football. He has shown that by leaving Chelsea to play at Dortmund, and then Valencia, and then again when it perhaps has been made clear to him that he wouldn’t be the first name on the team sheet.
Hodgson also revealed he believes the Belgian will be a good fit for Palace and is hoping Batshuayi can kick on during the second half of the season.
He doesn’t have to prove anything to me. I know that he is a very good player and that he scores goals, and that is the type of player we are looking for. His CV is very good and I am sure he will be looking to add to that CV, and put the first six months of this season behind him when perhaps it hasn’t gone as well as he would have liked.
