Crystal Palace making moves to sign Tiémoué Bakayoko from Chelsea?

With negotiations progressing at a snail’s pace for Tiémoué Bakayoko’s proposed transfer to AC Milan, there is plenty of room for other interested parties to swoop in and try to gazump things.

According to Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness), that is exactly what might be happening, with Crystal Palace apparently sending a proposal to the 26-year-old midfielder.

Bakayoko’s return to Milan has hit an obstacle in recent days, with the Blues wanting to set the buy-option included in the loan at €30m, while the Rossoneri are unwilling to go beyond €25m. As a result, Milan have started looking more seriously into the prospect of signing Boubakary Soumaré, as an alternate to Bakayoko, though it’s unlikely that Lille will do them any favors either.

The report claims that Bakayoko will make his decision in the coming days.

It’s worth noting however that Crystal Palace won’t be able to sign Bakayoko on loan since league rules do not allow for more than one loan deal between two Premier League clubs, and the Eagles just signed Michy Batshuayi on loan (this is why Conor Gallagher’s move to Selhurst Park fell through as well). So, if Palace are truly interested, they would need to negotiate an actual transfer with Chelsea — though we’d undoubtedly prefer that solution over yet another loan.