Antonio Conte admits Michy Batshuayi is still coming to terms with the demands of the Premier League and has urged the forward to learn from Diego Costa as he adjusts to life at Chelsea.

Batshuayi has yet to make his first league start since his high-profile, £33m move from Marseille last summer and while his involvement has been restricted by Costa’s outstanding form that has brought the Spain striker 13 goals in 17 league games, Conte acknowledges the 23-year-old is currently on a steep learning curve following his switch to England.

A one-match suspension means Costa will be absent when Chelsea attempt to protect their six-point advantage at the top of the table against Bournemouth on Boxing Day. Conte has not confirmed whether or not Batshuayi will be included in his starting line-up with Pedro and Eden Hazard under consideration for the central role. The head coach, though, believes that Batshuayi’s transition can only be helped by studying the work of Costa and is more experienced colleagues.

“I think every single player, every forward, has different characteristics, because the players are different,” said Conte. “Michy is different to Diego. And because he's a younger player, he can improve a lot. For sure, if you stay close to Diego, you can learn a lot to improve your experience and improve your skills. And to have the training sessions with great players improves you.”

Conte has previously cited the difficult experience of Simone Zaza, a member of his Italy squad at Euro 2016, at West Ham United this season as an example of how hard it can be for a forward to settle in this country but he believes Batshuayi is demonstrating the application required to succeed despite his continuing frustration at playing the role of understudy.

“For sure, he wants to play and it's not easy when you have in front of you Costa,” said Conte. “Above all this, Costa is playing fantastic football and scoring a lot of goals. It's important for Michy to continue to work, to continue to improve. I'm sure his moment will arrive.

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“It's not easy to arrive in this league and play in this league, above all if you are a young player arriving in a new country. For me, it's difficult. But for a young player also. To arrive and adapt to this league – such a tough league, very physical, very strong. But I think Michy is working very well.

“We must have patience with him, to work with him and try and help him improve. And then the next step is for him to play more this season. But I repeat: it's not easy to adapt to this league and arrive here and play.”

Michy Batshuayi will have to wait to discover if he will receive his first Premier League start (Getty)