Thursday saw claims from the Italian media Chelsea and Milan were set to resume for the transfer of Tiemoué Bakayoko before Saturday.
Well, those have already kicked off again, according to both Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport, and they were positive.
As has been widely reported over the past week, the core of the agreement is there, with Chelsea saying yes to a loan with view to buy rather than an obligation to buy.
The heart of the negotiations now revolve around the final fee and the initial payment to bring Bakayoko to San Siro.
Gazzetta state Milan are trying to bring the final price ‘down to €30m, maybe to €20m’, and the first expenditure ‘down to €2m or €3m’.
This is described as a ‘web that Milan are weaving, but there is optimism’.
Those involved in the talks ‘work patiently’, ‘aware of the will of the player who wants to return to Milan and that Chelsea will eventually let him leave’.
With the market still open for a good month, there is plenty of time.
As for Corriere, they believe the ‘pursuit of Bakayoko can quickly translate into a happy ending’.
They write ‘the road is drawn’ and Milan ‘in any case intends the redemption figure next June to remain under €30m’.
It’s cheeky, but with Frank Lampard having no use for Bakayoko and Chelsea likely to want him off their wage bill, Milan hold most of the power.
