Michy Batshuayi in Dortmund with Chelsea set to sign £18m Arsenal star Olivier Giroud

Simon Johnson31 January 2018

Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi is travelling to Germany to complete a loan switch to Borussia Dortmund.

Standard Sport understands the Belgium international didn't report to the team hotel ahead of the Bournemouth game as planned on Tuesday

He was given the go-ahead by the club to make the move to Borussia Dortmund as they're on the verge of signing Olivier Giroud from Arsenal for £18m.

Batshuayi has been pushing to leave Stamford Bridge this month in order to play more regular first-team football.

The 24-year-old has started just four League games since joining from Marseille for £33.1m in 2016 and is worried about his place in Belgium's World Cup squad.

Dortmund agreed terms with Chelsea and Batshuayi on Tuesday and he is due to arrive at the club's training ground for a medical.

The deal needs to be completed by 5pm UK time, which is when the transfer window closes in Germany, but no complications are expected.

His departure is the trigger needed for Arsenal to complete a £55m move for Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The Bundesliga club weren't prepared to sign off the transfer until they found a replacement and Batshuayi emerged as their first choice after Giroud turned them down.

Chelsea also wouldn't consider letting Batshuayi leave unless they brought someone else in first and they have looked at a number of players this month including Andy Carroll, Peter Crouch and Edin Dzeko, who couldn't agree personal terms.

They only ended their interest in Dzeko on Monday,although they had already begun making inquiries for Giroud and Tottenham's Fernando Llorente.

As Standard Sport revealed on Friday, Chelsea initially only wanted Giroud on loan but the offer was rejected by the north London club.

Negotiations with Arsenal over a permanent deal stepped up yesterday, but with manager Arsene Wenger reluctant to sell to a rival, Chelsea coach Antonio Conte has been preparing for the possibility of Batshuayi staying.

He has been training with the Belgian up front throughout his preparations for the match against Bournemouth tonight.

Conte also admitted in his pre-match press conference that he had spoken with Batshuayi to make sure the forward was in the right frame of mind to face Eddie Howe's side.

But Chelsea will now go into the match without a recognised striker because Alvaro Morata is also ruled out with a back problem.

Conte could play a 3-5-2 formation with Eden Hazard and Pedro up front or bring Ross Barkley in for his first start to use the 3-4-3 system.

Done deal: Emerson Palmieri has joined Chelsea
Getty Images

Meanwhile, Chelsea completed the signing of Roma left wing back Emerson Palmieri last night for an initial £17.5m with a potential £7.9m in add-ons.

The 23-year-old agreed a four-and-a-half year contract worth £42,000-a-week nine days ago but it was held up due to the negotiations over Dzeko.

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