Two years ago to the day, Chelsea signed one of the most promising young midfielders in a £40m transfer – Tiemoue Bakayoko. His performances at Monaco drew comparisons to legendary Premier League midfielder Patrick Vieira and the then-reigning champions were able to beat off rivals Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain to secure his signature.
The 24-year-old has only featured for Chelsea 43 times since joining the club in the summer of 2017, scoring three goals and assisting three more. He was sent out on a season-long loan to Italian giants AC Milan following a disastrous debut year in West London. The dynamic midfielder didn’t set the world alight early on in his spell but he drastically improved as the season went on.
Bakayoko’s average rating of 7.15 in 31 Serie A games might give some fans a little more confidence as the midfielder looks set to be part of new manager Frank Lampard’s pre-season plans. Chelsea have already played two games in Ireland before flying to Japan this week – Bakayoko played 45 minutes in both the opening draw to Bohemians and the most recent 4-0 thrashing of St Patrick’s Athletic – so maybe a route back into Chelsea’s midfield is seriously on the cards.
If the selection of thoughts below are anything to go by, then many Chelsea supporters will hope Bakayoko’s time at the club won’t last much past this summer…
https://twitter.com/oakldn/status/1150659453848567808?s=20
one of the biggest L’s this club has taken ????
— vLonely (@prxshh18x) July 15, 2019
How dare you remind us that worst signing ever
— Lukas (@Lukas59799245) July 15, 2019
Still annoys me that he was such a flop for one season. Can’t believe he’s this bad, but I still hope he’ll be a good player.
— Kocsis Tamás (@Thomas_Kocsis18) July 15, 2019
Hopefully he comes good for us this season
— At The Bridge Podcast (@AtTheBridgePod) July 15, 2019
And he became the worst transfer ever
— Luckies Chelsea (@LuckiesHazard) July 15, 2019
Disaster legend in the making
— WeTheChels (@WeTheChels) July 15, 2019
Biggest mistake our scouts have made
— devad2002 (@devad2002) July 15, 2019