Standard’s Batshuayi is ready to snub Everton and the Bundesliga for the Gunners.
Standard Liege striker Michy Batshuayi has revealed that he won’t be playing in Belgium next season and that Arsenal is his preferred destination.
The 20-year-old has been strongly linked with a move away from his current side – with the Premier League or the Bundesliga seemingly beckoning – and Everton have also shown interest.
Yet if Gunners manager Arsene Wenger is interested then Batshuayi is clearly keen to make the Emirates Stadium his new home.
“I don’t think I will play for Standard next season,” the forward was quoted by the Daily Express.
“I want to move on. Maybe I will think about a longer stay if we play in the Champions League, but I want to progress as a player.
“My preferred destinations are England or Germany. If you ask my favourite team, I’ll say Arsenal.
“It is a club with a good philosophy, where youngsters get their chance. I’ve been an Arsenal fan since I was a kid.”
Batshuayi is a product of the Standard youth system and broke into the first team in 2011 and has played 111 times for the club since then, scoring 41 goals.
However, this campaign has been particularly prolific for the youngster, who has found the net 20 times in 40 matches in all competitions.
The attacker has not yet been given a full cap for the Belgium national side, but does have five goals in 11 games for the Under-21s.
Batshuayi is contracted at the Stade de Sclessin until 2018 and has a release clause that is thought to be around £6.5m.
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