Chelsea seeking €20m for ‘outcast’ Tiémoué Bakayoko — report

Tiémoué Bakayoko is technically back with Chelsea, after his loan at AS Monaco ended without them picking up their buy-option, but he remains most unlikely to actually feature for the Blues ever again. So what’s next?

According to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Calciomercato), both AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain remain interested in the 25-year old midfielder, with Chelsea apparently seeking €20m in return (half of what we paid in 2017).

Bakayoko reportedly had a €42m buy-option that Monaco would’ve found hard to pay even if we did not have a pandemic throw everything into chaos (including the early cancellation of the French Ligue 1). And while in previous years, Chelsea might have been willing to send Bakayoko on loan again, the combination of our big spending plans and FIFA’s incoming new loan rules (delayed to 2021) will make that option far less preferable this time around.

As far as Bakayoko himself, he’s apparently interested in one club and one club only, AC Milan (sorry, PSG). But to complete that switch, Bakayoko will have to offer a helping hand, and probably accept a pay cut — and that’s assuming Milan, who are said to be in no hurry, don’t change their minds before then.