After their great title triumph under Antonio Conte last season, Chelsea are building an even better squad for this season in a bid to retain their league title.
One player who has been heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge this summer is Monaco midfielder, Tiemoué Bakayoko who impressed last season as his side won Ligue 1 and reached the UEFA Champions League semi-final.
He won’t come cheap, and the French champions have valued him at €50 million, but it is understood they have accepted a bid from Chelsea of €40 million. Here are five reasons why they should sign him at all costs.
Bakayoko is Still Young
At just 22 years old, Bakayoko is undoubtedly one of the greatest young players in the world of football right now.
He has already been playing professional football for five years and has played nearly 100 games in the French top flight including 63 league games for Monaco.
Based on the coaching and conditioning at the elite level of football, there is no reason why the Frenchman can’t play at the top for another 20 years.
The Price is Right
When it comes to this summer’s transfer window, the phrase “he’s not worth that much’ will ring in the ears of football fans across Europe, but at £35 million, that’s not a problem that Chelsea fans will have if their club signs Bakayoko.
For a young player who has already shown that he is good enough to perform in Europe, anything less than £50 million seems to be a bargain nowadays.
Big Game Experience
If there’s one thing that money can’t buy in football, it is the ability of a footballer to turn up on the biggest stages, and this is something that Bakayoko showed on many occasions last term.
This includes the round of 16-second leg against Manchester City where he popped up with his first ever Champions League goal which turned out to be the winner as they dumped the English side out of Europe.
The former Rennes man got the Man of the Match award for his impact throughout the game, and they don’t come much bigger than Champions League nights.
Matic Replacement
While he may not be the goal scoring midfielder that Chelsea fans got used to with Frank Lampard, he is the perfect replacement for the imminently departing Nemanja Matic.
The Serbian is expected to sign for either Manchester United or Inter Milan in the coming weeks for around £40 million. Bakayoko has been compared to Yaya Toure in the past, and it’s easy to see why with an abundance power, pace and precise passing as well as an imposing figure.
Midfield Partnerships
With PFA Player of the Year, N’golo Kante, in the Chelsea midfield already, the two Frenchmen will form a great bond in the middle of the park.
Bakayoko has picked up one France senior cap and will look to build a relationship with Kante on the international scene as well as the domestic one.
As Kante and Matic worked brilliantly alongside each other in Conte’s first season, Bakayoko could fill the void left by Matic if he was to leave before the beginning of the new season.
The energetic playing style of Kante will be massively complimented by the dominant style of Bakayoko like how Toure and David Silva have worked in Man City’s midfield in the past.
