On Thursday, we relayed an article claiming that Chelsea would trigger a clause in Tiemoué Bakayoko’s contract to extend it by a year.
The defensive midfielder’s current deal expires next summer, which is exactly why Milan wanted to use that to their advantage to try and bring the player in this summer.
A loan was out of the question unless an obligation to buy was attached to it, and that’s when this idea that Chelsea could unilaterally extend the contract came about.
Corriere dello Sport seem to clarify the situation on Friday, though, explaining that Bakayoko ‘turned down a renewal offer’ from the Blues, making his stance of an exit clear.
That being said, ‘from January, Chelsea will be free to trigger the (unilateral) clause’, much like they did with Olivier Giroud, scuppering other Milan plans in the process.
The situation for Bakayoko, however, ‘remains fluid’, and the Serie A side will once again try and count on the fact he wants to leave for them, since they are his ‘favourite landing place’.