Michy Batshuayi played the role of hero once again Thursday, scoring in the 91st minute to give Borussia Dortmund a 3-2 win over Atalanta in Europa League action. That goal, along with his equalising effort earlier in the match, accounts for a total of five in just three matches for his new side.

Chelsea fans concerned their team has made another awful mistake in loaning out the Belgian striker - akin to the pangs of regret felt when watching the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, and Mohamed Salah enjoy successes elsewhere - can point to those early figures as proof of January business gone horribly wrong. Olivier Giroud doesn't have five goals, after all.

But Chelsea manager Antonio Conte needs to see more out of Batshuayi than goals alone to warrant a spot back in his team next season, and judging the two strikers on that single metric does a disservice to the rationale for loaning out Batshuayi in the first place.

As previously examined, Chelsea's striker search - which linked the club with the likes of Edin Dzeko, Andy Carroll, and even Peter Crouch - was focused on finding a physically imposing player who boasts strong key passing and assist metrics, traits Batshuayi seemed to lack.

In 12 Premier League appearances this season, Batshuayi averaged 0.3 key passes - defined as a pass to a teammate that yields a shot - per 90 minutes, compared to Giroud's 1.7 at Arsenal over 16 matches. This statistic is one way to quantify attacking contributions beyond goals.

Though the sample size at Dortmund is small, little suggests a drastic increase in production from Batshuayi, who has averaged 0.5 key passes per 90 minutes in his two Bundesliga appearances. It's still far too early to quantify his attacking contributions at Dortmund, but it's a metric Conte's staff will want to watch throughout the year in hopes of improvement.

Conversely, Dortmund won't mind one bit if Batshuayi focuses on finding the back of the net. He's replacing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang up top, and the Gabonese striker averaged just one key pass per 90 minutes this season -hardly similar to the rates of most elite hold-up centre-forwards.

At the same time, Batshuayi doesn't seem to care much how his performances are rated by those outside his current outfit, telling reporters, as quoted by ESPN FC: "I'm not thinking about that at all.

"For me, it's important to perform well for Borussia Dortmund in every match anew. I'll deal with the situation as it comes."

But, to capture Conte's attention, Batshuayi needs to rack up assists as well as goals, for Chelsea relies on cohesion in its attacking ranks; Eden Hazard, Pedro, Willian, and Cesc Fabregas, along with wing-backs Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses, combine to carve teams apart. If he can't improve those aspects of his game, there's little reason for Conte to reconsider his stance on the player. Goal-scoring was never the problem.

Chelsea was smart not to accept a purchase option in its loan deal, which may come in handy if Conte isn't in the picture next season and a new boss rather likes a player with a poacher's instinct. But if the Italian stays at Stamford Bridge beyond the end of this campaign, it will take more than routine goal celebrations for Batshuayi to work his way back into the regular rotation.