Italian side Napoli secured ‘a great deal’ for Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko, with the Blues dropping their demands for the Frenchman drastically at the end of the window.
Bakayoko was heavily linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge throughout the summer transfer window, with it clear he was not a part of Frank Lampard’s plans.
It appeared he would end up back at AC Milan, where he spent a year on loan from Chelsea in 2018/19.
However, it was another Italian side, Napoli, who ended up securing his signature, sealing a last-minute move on deadline day of the window.
That switch saw him reuniting with Gennaro Gattuso, who Bakayoko worked with during the manager’s time in charge of AC Milan.
And according to Italian journalist Ciro Venerato, it’s a deal that Chelsea had to make several sacrifices on to get over the line.
“Milan followed Bakayoko for several months,” he told Goal Show on Piuenne, relayed by Area Napoli.
“Chelsea were willing to sell the midfielder only on loan with a redemption right set at twenty-five million euros.
“For budgetary reasons, Napoli could not reach that figure. Then something unforeseen happened. De Laurentiis turned strongly on the midfielder.
“Napoli took Bakayoko at one million euros, a couple of days before Chelsea had asked for two million. And that’s not all.
“Napoli hired the player on a dry loan with the English club, which also took 50% of the player’s salary.
“It’s a great deal also because Bakayoko is the footballer that coach Gennaro Gattuso needed.”
