Long-time Chelsea midfielder set for summer La Liga move
It’s been a relatively uneventful first 10 days of Todd Boehly’s ownership at Chelsea. The Blues haven’t hit the ground running in the transfer market as they were rumored to be doing. It seems to be business as usual—which isn’t necessarily a bad thing—for Marina Granovskaia and Co. as they take their time and evaluate the market for favorable deals. The club has made just a handful of personnel moves thus far as it announced the departure of Antonio Rudiger to Real Madrid and made its first signing of the summer.
The attention now turns to rebuilding and strengthening Thomas Tuchel’s ranks. An important part of this will be trimming the fat around the edges of the team—a.k.a those fringe first team players stuck in purgatory or trapped within the loan army. This process has already begun with the announcement that Danny Drinkwater has moved on from the club after his contract officially expired. It now seems as if another disappointing midfield signing from the Antonio Conte era is set to depart Chelsea after a half-decade on the Blues’ books.
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Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko could leave the club for good this summer
Tiemoue Bakayoko looks closer than ever to an exit following rumors that he is receiving interest from La Liga. The Frenchman is being eyed by Valencia following the Spanish club’s official appointment of manager Gennaro Gattuso on Thursday morning. Gattuso has a great relationship with the Chelsea loanee, which is a promising sign as Bakayoko’s long-awaited move seemingly draws closer. The midfielder has just one year remaining on his deal, so if Granovskaia is not able to find a buyer before the end of the window, he’ll end up exiting for free in 2023.
Bakayoko was labelled a Premier League flop even before the conclusion of his debut campaign with the Blues. Conte failed to get the best of the Monaco starlet in 2017/18 after he replaced Nemanja Matic in Chelsea’s title-winning midfield pairing. Bakayoko played just 43 games for the Blues in all competitions. He’s been one of the most expensive members of the loan army ever since he joined AC Milan on a temporary deal in 2018/19. Suffice it to say, the move has been a massive failure. Bakayoko’s appeared in more matches for every one of his temporary destinations than his parent club, despite being on the Blues’ books since 2017.
The now-27-year-old has been sent out on four loans over the last four seasons. Chelsea has desperately tried to offload him and it’s attempted everything in the book to get someone to bite. Bakayoko has spent two seasons with AC Milan (’18/19 and ’21/22), as well as lone years with Monaco and Napoli. He’s built up a positive relationship with Gattuso over the years during his time in Italy, which has led to the reported interest from the La Liga underachievers.
The Blues could still collect a decent fee from the sale of Bakayoko as he is currently valued at around £9 million. This is only a fraction of the £40 million that Chelsea paid Monaco for his services after his breakout season in Ligue 1, but he’s commanded a few million pounds in loan fees over the years, as well. The most important thing is ensuring that his £110,000 per week wages are off the Blues’ books as soon as possible. A move to Valencia would benefit all parties and hopefully put an end to one of the most underwhelming partnerships in recent years.
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