AC Milan have reached a ‘definitive agreement’ with Chelsea for Tiemoue Bakayoko to return to the club this summer.
That’s according to Sky Sport Italia, who say the Italian club have worked ‘under the radar’ over the last few days to get a deal over the line.
Bakayoko has been heavily linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge this summer after returning from a loan spell at Monaco.
The Frenchman has no place in Frank Lampard’s squad after spending the last two seasons out on loan and talks with Milan over a return have been ongoing for weeks.
He spent the 2018/19 season on loan with the Serie A club and wants to return, with them equally keen on another loan deal.
Chelsea want a permanent sale, though, as they look to recoup some of the vast amounts they’ve spent rebuilding their squad this summer.
Thus negotiations between the two clubs have been ongoing to find a solution and Sky say that has now been found on an ‘onerous loan’ of €3m with a purchase option set at €30m.
That latter price, alongside personal terms with Bakayoko, who has an agreement for the first year of his loan but not for the following years, are what had been holding things back.
That has now seemingly been sorted, but those hoping for a quick conclusion to this deal may be sorely disappointed.
Sky explain that despite the agreement with Chelsea Milan’s priority is the Europa League and possibly selling a player first.
While an agreement is ‘not far off’ there is no plan to ‘formalise everything in a short time’. In other words, they’re not going to sign the deal any time soon despite an agreement being ‘not far off’.
That is likely to be due to the Europa League. Should Milan qualify as expected, that will change their calendar considerably and thus their market needs, therefore they are waiting to see what happens before pushing the button on Bakayoko.
