Sevilla want Tiémoué Bakayoko on loan — report

According to Seville-based newspaper Estadio Deportivo, local club Sevilla are interested in taking Chelsea midfielder Tiémoué Bakayoko on loan.

Bakayoko was expected to stay at Milan after doing quite well for them during the season. However, the club’s failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League has scuppered any such plans and has lead to his return to Chelsea.

His agent and brother, Abdoulaye Bakayoko, said that their priority will be given to Chelsea as they look for stability in Tiémoué’s career, but there is as yet no guarantee that he will have a place in the squad next season regardless of how well he fared in Italy.

This is where Sevilla enters the scene. Their sporting director, Monchi, who returned to the Spanish club after a two-year spell in Italy with AS Roma, is apparently looking to add someone like Bakayoko to Julen Lopetegui’s squad for the upcoming term.

The major impediment, as it is often the case, would be the finances. Sevilla are not a rich club, relatively speaking, and they, too, have missed out on Champions League football after finishing sixth in La Liga. A loan with an option to buy might be the best for all involved, assuming they can afford it.

In terms of Chelsea priorities, this is probably not very high on the list at this point. A lot will depend on exactly who the manager is for next season and how much he might rate Bakayoko, and of course whatever Bakayoko himself might want. Stay tuned.