Danny Drinkwater, Tiémoué Bakayoko ‘surplus to requirements’ at Chelsea — report

According to the Daily Mail, Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has not been impressed with what Danny Drinkwater and Tiémoué Bakayoko have shown in preseason thus far, and is ready to see them leave the club. Not exactly the most shocking rumor.

This report actually came out before Sunday’s friendly against Reading, though neither player did much to improve their situation after playing the first-half as the double-pivot partnership in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Bakayoko had been primed for an exit since last summer, when he was sent on loan to AC Milan after a highly inconsistent and generally terrible debut season at Chelsea. This summer, he had been linked with Paris Saint-Germain, especially after the interview where he revealed how willing he would be to join his hometown club. Those rumors were only made stronger by AC Milan sporting director Leonardo moving to PSG as well. However, the Parisians have opted for Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye instead, which has seen Everton turn their attentions to Bakayoko instead as a potential replacement.

Meanwhile, Drinkwater has not featured at all in the rumor mill, just as he did not feature at all under Maurizio Sarri last season. His wages, reportedly set at £100,000 per week, understandably make him a tough asset to shift, but as things stand, we have a few too many midfielders in the team. Unlike Bakayoko, Drinkwater does count as homegrown, which does increase his likelihood of staying with the team.

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