After weeks and weeks of speculation without finding a solution, Tiemoué Bakayoko is on the verge of securing his exit from Chelsea for the current campaign.
His destination is expected to be Monaco, his former club, where he will return on loan until the end of the season.
This has all but been confirmed by the principality club’s vice-president, Oleg Petrov, who made it clear in a press conference (via L’Equipe) they were expecting a defensive midfielder to sign before playing Strasbourg and were hoping to finalise the deal on Friday.
He revealed the talks for the player had been ‘long and complicated’, and when asked if the player was Bakayoko, he replied: “Yes, it’s very possible. He’s a physically strong defensive midfielder and has the attributes for the French league. We know, he knows Monaco and its manager”.
Petrov then explained all that was left to sort out were ‘administrative procedures’ before confirming it would be a loan and not a full purchase.
Previous reports from France suggested the temporary deal could have an option to buy, but that will likely be clarified by the end of the day.
Bakayoko has yet to feature under Frank Lampard this season, and it seems he probably never will.
