Now that the Thibaut Courtois saga is sorted, Chelsea can focus on other things, like getting rid of the deadwood.
Within that group appears to be Tiémoué Bakayoko, who only arrived last summer and doesn’t seem to be in Maurizio Sarri’s plans going forward.
That means an exit is probably on the cards this week, and Milan are the best placed to get the defensive midfielder, having started talks a few days ago.
That doesn’t mean they’re guaranteed to get their man, but the negotiations have been promising, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, after Leonardo, the Serie A side’s new technical director, sat down with the player’s agents on Wednesday.
There are a few obstacles in the way, however, all of which appear to be financial, as Chelsea spent €45m on the 23-year-old originally, and aren’t willing to let him go out on loan if they aren’t guaranteed of making at least €35m back.
Furthermore, Bakayoko’s wages are too high for Milan right now, and there’s hope that, at least for the upcoming season, the Blues could chip in to help the Italians.
This deal isn’t limited by the English transfer window, as it’s an exit, but with the Premier League kicking off this weekend, they’ll want it done as soon as possible.
