With a contract expiring in 2022, Tiemoué Bakayoko needs to be sold this summer if Chelsea are going to make some money back off him.
The situation also currently rules out a loan unless there is a mandatory purchase clause attached to it, and despite Milan being interested in bringing him back, there is no sign of them coughing up the necessary money just yet.
Corriere dello Sport look at the Frenchman’s choices going forward, explaining Chelsea offered him an ‘annual renewal’, but ‘the midfielder declined the offer’.
Having put up €40m to buy him from Monaco in the first place, the Blues want to make as much of that back as possible, and despite him having just one year left on his deal, they ‘still ask for €10-12m to sell him’.
As things stand, ‘it’s clear Paolo Maldini and Federico Massara will not be able to accept’ that fee, and ‘the conditions are precise: loan or small indemnity’.
This standoff means ‘we will have to wait until late August for the scenario to become clearer’.
Patience is key here, but if Chelsea can’t find anyone else ready to pay for Bakayoko’s services, then even just getting a bit of money from Milan might be more enticing that simply losing him on a free.
