Chelsea beat West Ham United and Crystal Palace to £33.2m deal for Marseille’s star striker

Chelsea have reportedly fended off interest from West Ham United and Crystal Palace to sign Belgium international striker Michy Batshuayi, according to the Guardian.

The Premier League giants, who could only finish tenth in the English top-flight standings last term after a dreadful defence of their 2014/15 title, are close to sealing a mega £33.2m transfer for the highly-rated Marseille forward.

The 22-year-old, who has six international caps for his country and is currently with the Belgium national team for EURO 2016 in France, scored 23 goals and provided 10 assists in 50 appearances in all competitions for the Ligue 1 outfit last season.

Batshuayi, who was also subject to interest from Serie A champions Juventus, is set to become incoming Blues boss Antonio Conte’s first addition at Stamford Bridge.

The report suggests that the Belgium star is set for a medical at Chelsea shortly, despite Premier League rivals Palace having a whopping £31.6m offer accepted by Marseille president, Vincent Labrune, earlier this week.