AC Milan ‘substantially optimistic’ about agreement with Chelsea for Tiémoué Bakayoko — reports

Tiémoué Bakayoko has been hoping to leave Chelsea for good this summer, just as we had been hoping to be able to arrange a transfer for him, but it sounds like we’re all going to have to make do with yet another temporary solution, and the associated contract extension to 2023 as well.

Reports in Italy (via Sport Witness) today paint a “substantially optimistic” picture about AC Milan being able to take the 27-year-old on loan for the season, paying a small fee to do so (€1.5m maybe?). Milan will cover Bakayoko’s wages as well, after he supposedly agreed to a small wage cut. And the Rossoneri are hoping to insert a €10m buy-option, as if there’s any chance of them actually exercising it.

With the new Serie A season set to start this weekend, Bakayoko’s said to be “impatient” to get started and Milan is expected to close the deal “in the next few days”. They recently finalized the loan signing of Alessandro Florenzi in a similar operation, so perhaps Bakayoko’s next on the slate.