Tiemoue Bakayoko close to leaving Chelsea amidst interest from Ligue 1 clubs
According to Calciomercato reporter Daniele Longo (h/t football.london), Tiemoue Bakayoko is nearing an exit from Chelsea with interest from both Rennes and Lyon for the central midfielder.
Bakayoko, who signed for Chelsea from Monaco in the summer of 2017, played one full season under then the manager Antonio Conte before falling out of favour with new boss Maurizio Sarri in 2018. Since then, the midfielder has been sent away on loan moves to AC Milan, Monaco, and Napoli.
While the midfielder did feature for the Blues in this year’s pre-season, he did not make it into the 24-man squad that travelled to Belfast for the club’s UEFA Super Cup final. He was also not on the bench for Chelsea’s season opener against Crystal Palace.
However, it does not look like he will be dropped for any more games as the West London outfit may sell the player on a permanent basis soon. While there is no certainty on which club will sign him, both Rennes and Lyon are working on deals to bring the midfielder to France.
Although a price has not been quoted, the Blues will be hoping to get back as much as possible of the £35million they spent on him four years ago. If Chelsea do manage to sell him for a sizeable amount of money, they could reinvest it in signing some of their other transfer targets in the form of Jules Kounde and Jude Bellingham.
Chelsea have already spent a mammoth £97.5million on Romelu Lukaku this season, and if they want to make any other big-money move, they may need to fund it through player sales, something Bakayoko could certainly be a part of.
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The Blues are executing a lot of sales this summer, as forward Tammy Abraham is also closing in on a move away from the club this summer.