Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko is set to return to AC Milan on loan this season.
Bakayoko, who joined Chelsea in 2017 after rising to fame as part of Monaco’s Ligue 1 title winning team that year, previously spent the 2018/19 on loan with Milan. He hasn’t played a competitive game for Chelsea since 2018 and spent last season at Napoli after a spell back with Monaco in 2019/20.
The 27-year-old has no future at Stamford Bridge and along with Ross Barkley, Danny Drinkwater and a handful of others hasn’t even been assigned a squad number at Chelsea this season.
However, it doesn’t appear that Bakayoko will be sticking around as Italian journalist Alfredo Pedulla has reported that a loan return to Milan is close to being finalised.
The player’s contract at Chelsea is due to expire at the end of this season, but it is said the Blues will unilaterally trigger an extension clause until 2023 that will stop him becoming a free agent.
Milan are expected to pay between €1m and €1.5m for the loan, potentially worth up to £1.3m to Chelsea, and will have an option to buy next summer for €15m (£12.8m).
Chelsea remain in the market for a new central midfielder in the final days of the transfer window to supplement existing trio Jorginho, N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic. The Blues have raised a vast amount this summer by selling players of no use to them, funding their club record capture of Romelu Lukaku, but it could be a loan deal that snags them a new midfielder.
Saul Niguez has been on offered on loan by Atletico Madrid. Chelsea have submitted a proposal and 90min understands that the player has been given freedom to choose his next club by Atletico.
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Source : 90min