A lot has changed for Tiemoué Bakayoko over the past month in Milan, as the French midfielder has gone from “The Worst” to one of their more consistent players.
Pretty much ridiculed by the local press and fans throughout social media, the 24-year-old is slowly but surely proving them wrong, and appears to be becoming a go to guy for Gennaro Gattuso, placing him next to Franck Kessiè in the middle of the pitch.
Finding far more joy now than he did early on in the season, Bakayoko, according to Corriere dello Sport, is now intent on prolonging his stay in Italy, and is ‘ready to convince’ Leonardo to spend the pre-agreed €35m to make the move permanent.
There’s a long way to go before that happens, as that fee is a lot for Milan and their regular FFP issues, but the aim would be to get to a point where the club prioritises his transfer above all others.
Considering their needs elsewhere (especially in defence), that might be tricky, but you never really know in football.
This desire to avoid a return to Stamford Bridge is described as a ‘motivation’ for the player, as he knows Maurizio Sarri has no plans to use him going forward.
Only time will tell.
