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Premier League Legend Claims Conte Doesn't Trust Batshuayi to Fill Morata Injury Void

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Premier League record goalscorer Alan Shearer has expressed concern that Chelsea manager Antonio Conte still doesn't seem to trust Michy Batshuayi, something that could cause issue now that Alvaro Morata has been ruled out for several weeks with injury.

Morata, who had scored six goals in his first six Premier League games, is expected to miss up to two months of action after suffering a torn hamstring during Saturday's defeat against Manchester City, and it doesn't exactly bode well that Batshuayi wasn't the immediate choice to replace him there and then.

Instead, Conte turned to Willian from the bench and deliberately operated without a striker until Batshuayi did make an appearance in the closing stages.

"For the life of me I could not understand why Antonio Conte did not bring on Michy Batshuayi when Alvaro Morata limped off ten minutes before the break," Shearer explained in a column for The Sun.

"He had just scored a midweek winner against Atletico Madrid and his confidence must have been soaring," the pundit added.

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"But Conte plumped for Willian instead with Batshuayi not being trusted until the 73rd minute. If he does not trust him enough what was going on in the summer with their recruitment?"

Batshuayi famously saw precious little game time during his first season at Chelsea until coming on to score the goal that ultimately handed the Blues their Premier League title.

But it seems that Conte still doesn't see him as being ready to lead the line. With no other strikers, that highlights a significant weakness in the thin Chelsea squad as there are crucial Premier League and Champions League games on the schedule in the coming weeks.