FROM the top all the way to very nearly rock bottom. That’s what Tiémoué Bakayoko has gone through in the space off a few months. May 2017, he wins the league in fantastic fashion with Monaco, being a key part of the team in midfield alongside Fabinho. He has made his debut for France. He is the upcoming French midfielder, the one everyone is talking about and the one every top club wants. He has so much choice, and after long consideration, he decides to choose Chelsea, ahead of Manchester United and others. Monaco, who bought him from Rennes for €8m three years earlier, sold him for 40…
As a box to box midfielder, there have not been many players better than he was in that 2016-2017 season. He knocked out City in the Champions League quarter final second leg with a goal, but bossed the midfield in both ties. He stood his ground very well against Juventus in the semis. He was outstanding all along in Ligue 1. Coming to the Premier League made a lot of sense for him. His qualities fit the English game perfectly. The mix of physicality (he is 1m89) and technical ability, rare for his size – the way he drives the ball forward, his energy. At 23, he can’t wait to get going.
May 2018. Bakayoko has only played five league matches since February. Things never worked out with Antonio Conte, who at times almost played him as a second striker. Bakayoko struggled to understand what the Italian manager wanted from him. At Monaco, things were simple. It was a 4-4-2 formation. Fabinho and Bakayoko had a very good understanding. He was the one pushing forward the most and he knew he had Leonardo Jardim’s full trust. At Stamford Bridge, he had to adapt to a new style, a new tactical system with a back three, a new manager who was losing part of his dressing room, a new league and a new culture. It was never going to be easy but the situation at Chelsea made it even harder. He also had some injuries and it hurt when Conte left him at home for the two biggest games of the season against Manchester United and Manchester City, both lost by the Londoners.
Bakayoko had the chance to have an impact in the first half of the season though, as he started 13 of the 19 Premier League games played by Chelsea. But he failed, and it was clear in the summer 2018 that his future lay far from the Bridge.
His stock was still high, despite the tough season he had just experienced. AC Milan were keen to sign him from Monaco and they were still keen a year later. The loan (with an option to buy at €30m) was a good option for all three parties.
At first, the Italian experience looked very similar to the English one. Bakayoko struggled to adapt again. His relationship with Rino Gattuso was tough too.
“Bakayoko needs to learn how to control the ball. He will have to work better and it won’t be easy” he said at the start of the season.
But the former Monégasque worked hard to turn things around and did it in style. Since mid-November, he has been great for the Rossoneri as the holding midfielder in a midfield three. The Frenchman is more mature, extremely solid and reliable in this role, as well as good on the ball. He is probably even better and more complete than in his last season at Monaco.
Tiemoué Bakayoko on staying at Milan –
Who would not like to stay long in a club like Milan? But I'm still under contract for three years with Chelsea, it's not just me. In Milan you live well, the climate is similar to the south of France, it is the ideal place to come to #CFC pic.twitter.com/T2fFWLQIog
— Maurizio Ⓜ️ (@CFCNewsReport) February 5, 2019
Maurizio Sarri didn’t want to keep him at Chelsea last summer and he will surely not want to keep him this summer. The player himself doesn’t want to go back to London anyway. “Staying here in Milan is my dream. It is a legendary club. That’s all I think of. But I have a contract with Chelsea (until 2022). I want to finish the season in fourth place with Milan and then we will see” he told the Corriere dello Sport newspaper this week. Milan qualifying for the Champions League next season is key for the future of the Parisian midfielder. The Milanese are currently just a point clear of Atalanta, Roma and Lazio.
Gattuso is also now in love with his Frenchman. “At the moment, we can’t play without him. If all the conditions are reunited, he has to stay. He gives us so much. He is a key player for us and he could be an important player for Milan for years to come” said the Milan manager who is now labelling him as “a more technical Marcel Desailly”. Tiémoué Bakayoko would take that compliment every day.
A £10 bet on Milan to make th top four returns £25
