AC Milan are looking to overhaul their midfield for the upcoming season under new to-be-announced Milan coach Ralf Rangnick and want to bring back Chelsea midfielder Tiémoué Bakayoko to the San Siro.
His phenomenal performances for Monaco saw him to be one of the most sought after midfielders in Europe as Chelsea signed him for £40 million in 2017. But he failed to carry over his form to the Premier League and struggled to adapt to the high intensity and physicality. He was loaned out to Serie A club AC Milan marking the end of a disastrous campaign for the midfielder in England.
While the Frenchman did not have an ideal start to the campaign his form slowly picked up and soon became Gattuso’s go to defensive midfielder at Milan.
Bakayoko, however, did not return to Chelsea after a successful season in Italy and was sent on loan to his former club Monaco, with an option to buy him at the end of the season for €42.5 million. But after the remainder of the Ligue 1 season was called off, Monaco have announced that they will not exercise the buy option involving the player.
It remains clear that the midfielder does not see himself as part of Lamaprd’s plans and does not want to play in England. AC Milan are interested in the 25-year-old but it is understood that there is a possible hurdle matching the players’ payday, estimated to be around €6m/year.
Corriere dello Sport reports that the deal will take place only if Bakayoko agrees to take a pay cut. The newspaper also reports that Milan will enter into a dialogue with Chelsea after the conclusion of the current campaign and only if they appoint Ralf Rangnick at the helm (which seems imminent).
Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia will want to recoup as much of the original amount they paid for Bakayoko. His current five-year contract with Chelsea is set to expire in 2022 and the club will be eager to get rid of the midfielder on a permanent basis this summer.
