According to recent report from The Times, Chelsea face the prospect of having to reduce the amount of players they send out on loan. The Premier League giants, champions of the division back in 2017, currently have a staggering 39 players on temporary spells away from Stamford Bridge, but new rules could force the Blues to significantly reduce that number.

And that should be of keen interest to Everton manager Marco Silva, who should seek to solve his side's striking problem by taking Michy Batshuayi, valued at £36 million by Transfermarkt, off of Chelsea's hands in the near future.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, the Toffees have had difficulties in the final third of the pitch ever since they let Romelu Lukaku, formerly of Chelsea, leave for Manchester United in the summer of 2016, to the point that ex-boss Sam Allardyce spent a lot of money on Turkey international Cenk Tosun back in January to solve that issue.

Yet he, alongside the likes of Sandro Ramirez and Oumar Niasse, simply haven’t proven up to the task of leading the line for the Merseysiders, to the point that new manager Silva has opted for Richarlison, a winger by trade, in the number nine role in recent weeks.

And while the Brazil international deserves huge credit for making that role his own in the last few games, one still senses that Everton would benefit hugely from landing an out-and-out number nine - if they are serious about challenging the top six, they need a prolific striker in their arsenal.

And Chelsea’s Batshuayi, currently on loan at Spanish side Valencia, appears to be the perfect candidate as, although he has struggled for game time since moving to Stamford Bridge in 2016, his goal record for both the Blues and indeed Borussia Dortmund last term has been extraordinary.

The 25-year-old has managed 19 goals in just 53 appearances for Chelsea in the last few years, and given only of those appearances have been starts, that equates to a goal every 93 minutes for the West Londoners - that’s a hugely impressive strike rate.

And with nine goals in just 14 games for German side Dortmund last season, it’s obvious that, more often than not, Batshuayi makes a telling difference and impact when on the pitch.

Yes, things haven’t quite gone as well at Valencia this season with just one goal to his name so far, but there can be little doubting the pedigree and ability the 25-year-old has got in the final third of the field - the sort of pedigree Everton are crying out for in that area of the pitch.

And with Chelsea facing the possibility of having to get rid of some of their loan stars, Everton must ask them the question about Batshuayi - doing so would help the Blues solve a problem regarding their squad size, at the time helping Silva solve a glaring problem in his Toffees ranks.

Everton and Chelsea fans… what do you think? Let us know!