West Ham move ahead of AC Milan for Chelsea cast-away Tiemoué Bakayoko — report

Chelsea will be looking to move on several players from the Loan Army to (co-)fund a transfer spree this summer, and one of the names on that list is Tiémoué Bakayoko. He’s been attracting interest from former loan team AC Milan as of late, though the prospect of a transfer remains a difficult proposition, due mainly to financials.

As a result, French media RMC Sport (via Il Milanista) are reporting that West Ham have now sniffed a chance to pounce and have leapt to the front of the queue. The Hammers believe Bakayoko to be the exact kind of “combative” player to steel up their midfield and bring stability. Yes, the same Tiémoué Bakayoko.

The 25-year-old’s latest club, AS Monaco do have an option to buy for approximately €40m, but given the current financial situation it seems highly unlikely they will do so. Whether or not West Ham have the money to fund a deal remains to be seen, though they certainly haven’t been shy to splash the cash in recent times.

Marina Granovskaia will be intent on recouping as much of the initial £36m fee as possible and we all know how tough she can be in negotiations. If she’s able to get anything near what we paid in 2017, then it would be a fantastic piece of business, and would also help in securing further important reinforcements.

Let’s hope West Ham are dumb smart enough to cough up the dough!