Next year’s Chelsea team will look a lot different to the one we know now.
Frank Lampard has made it clear he wants a younger and hungrier team, which is why players like Pedro and Willian are being let go and the likes of Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech are coming in to replace them.
One man, however, who won’t be a part of that team (or at least is very unlikely to be) is Tiemoué Bakayoko, who just spent the current campaign on loan at AS Monaco.
The defensive midfielder isn’t in Lampard’s plans, but he remains contracted to the club until 2022, meaning a new landing spot will be needed.
Corriere dello Sport believe Milan could be such a place, but sacrifices will need to be made from the player’s end.
The Italian newspaper state the Serie A side ‘could benefit (from his situation) to get him at advantageous conditions’, but the real obstacle remains Bakayoko’s €6m/year wages.
But, Corriere explain that ‘if he lowers his salary demands, his return wouldn’t be complicated’.
Bakayoko knows Milan well, having spent the 2018-19 campaign on loan there under Gennaro Gattuso, but he will have to wait before seeing them make a move.
First, they want to finish the season and confirm the arrival of Ralf Rangnick as their new manager, at which point they’ll be able to try and open talks with Chelsea.
Until then, however, everyone just needs to be patient.
