French midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko has reportedly been given on a season-long loan by his club Chelsea to AC Milan. According to some sources in Italy, the deal has included the option for the Serie A side to purchase the 23-year-old permanently for 35.56 million Pounds. On Monday Bakayoko will be having a medical before completing his move to San Siro.
He only arrived in Chelsea last summer from Monaco after playing a key role in helping the Ligue 1 side win the French title. He found it adapting to the Premier League after he has struggled to live up to his 40 million Pounds price tag at Stamford Bridge. After Chelsea has moved to strengthen their midfield his chances to play a regular football this season have looked even slimmer. Chelsea has welcomed Mateo Kovacic from Real Madrid and Jorginho from Napoli. In their squad, the Blues also have Danny Drinkwater, Ross Barkley, and Cesc Fabregas which means competition for places is fierce.
Bakayoko has been featured in pre-season but he didn’t look too impressive. The Blues can still sell and loan players, the Premier League transfer window has closed but it remains open through Europe.
Bakayoko looks like he is next on the list to get on loan since Chelsea has already agreed to loan out fringe players such as Michy Batshuayi and Kurt Zouma. For a player who is still only 23, a departure from Stamford Bridge looks like a good option since he seems to have lost his way in London.
When Bakayoko is at his best he is an aggressive and dynamic midfielder who is capable of taking control of the matches. His hopes might be that the move to AC Milan can help him rediscover the form he showed at Monaco and hopefully get his career back on track.