Chelsea need answers from AC Milan: WTHIGOW Tiemoue Bakayoko?

Tiemoue Bakayoko is enduring a disastrous loan spell at AC Milan, taking blame all out of proportion to his involvement. Chelsea need a handle on the situation, especially since they may have to reassign him in January.

How much damage can a player do in 84 minutes across four games? If you’re asking AC Milan fans and the player is Tiemoue Bakayoko, apparently quite a lot. Bakayoko’s debut for Milan created an unshakeable first impression among fans, coach Gennaro Gattuso and the Italian media. Bakayoko came on with Milan leading Napoli 2-1 in the 58′. Twenty-two minutes later Napoli were ahead 3-2. Gattuso singled out Bakayoko in his post-game remarks, and that set the precedent.

Bakayoko has made only six appearances for AC Milan this season. He has come off the bench in Serie A four times, accumulating less than one complete game, and started twice in the Europa League. Milan dropped points from a leading position in one of those other Serie A games and won both in the Europa League. The latest reports say Bakayoko has very few chances remaining to improve his play and his standing in the team. If he does not, AC Milan will seek to cancel his loan and return him to Chelsea in January.

Gennaro Gattuso is doing very little to make himself the sympathetic figure in the stand-off. His comments about Bakayoko after the Napoli loss were such that Jose Mourinho may have texted him to say “nah don’t do that bro.” Gattuso has since tacked to a more passive-aggressive approach.

"The tactics haven’t been drilled into his head yet and evidently it’s my fault, we need to do more work with him in training. He has been here for two months and we haven’t yet been able to get him to understand the movements. It is our duty to improve him as a player, because he does have a lot of quality and we’re not finding that yet. – Goal"

Gattuso is supplying the kindling, matches and gasoline to the press every time he opines on Bakayoko. He is creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure, which may be Milan’s endgame.

The talk now from mildly reputable sources says Bakayoko has the next run of games to prove why Milan should keep him for the full term of his loan. Gattuso is not showing too much inclination to give Bakayoko quality playing time in Serie A, which may or may not help Bakayoko’s cause. Milan have not lost since that Napoli game, but are still in 10th place in Serie A. If Bakayoko is on the pitch when Milan have their next defeat, whether or not he had any significant role in the loss, his fate will be effectively sealed.

Chelsea need to start planning for the worst-case scenario. Bakayoko was one of the first experienced midfielders Maurizio Sarri cast off the island during preseason. Considering Sarri only had one open role for a midfielder and it was the role least suited for Bakayoko, a loan was the best move. Bakayoko had few prospects at Chelsea, and no one had any illusions to the contrary. The loan-to-own deal with AC Milan seemed a good option.

That is no longer the case, but there is still no room for Bakayoko at Stamford Bridge. The best scenario over the next three months is former Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim gets a new job and that club takes Bakayoko on the second-half loan. Jardim’s system at Monaco is the whole reason Bakayoko caught Chelsea’s eye. In retrospect, Jardim is the only manager who drew the best out of Tiemoue Bakayoko. Whatever Jardim did, Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri and Gennaro Gattuso could not.

The most amusing scenario is if Leonardo Jardim replaces Jose Mourinho at Manchester United. Jardim should be a very strong candidate for the job: he gives young homegrown players plenty of opportunity, he plays attacking football and has a positive disposition with his players and club. He is everything Mourinho is not.

If Jardim goes to Old Trafford and Chelsea are looking to do something – anything – with Bakayoko, the Frenchman could reunite with Jardim. This would put Bakayoko in competition with the man he was supposed to replace at Chelsea, Nemanja Matic. Just as Matic followed Mourinho to United, Bakayoko could follow Jardim. A few years ago, the prospect of Bakayoko and Paul Pogba in the same midfield seemed like the future of the French national team. Bakayoko’s star has fallen, but now this pairing could be realized.

Hiring Leonardo Jardim is not a very Ed Woodward / Manchester United thing to do. Not enough money, not enough drama, too smart a move all around. But loaning a player to a top rival to reunite with his best coach is very much a Chelsea thing to do.

If Chelsea could recover their investment on Bakayoko via Manchester United, this may be the best move that probably will not happen.

Oh, right. WTHIGOW = What the hell is going on with