Bakayoko, why Chelsea should be happy to have him back
Chelsea loanee looks set to return to Stamford Bridge after falling out with AC Milan head coach Rino Gattuso.
It has been an up and down year for the Frenchman, who failed to impress in the early stages of his time in Milan. The 7 time European cup winners looked set to terminate his loan as early as October, with Gattuso telling the press that the player ‘needed help as he is struggling’ and stressed the hadn’t managed to get the player to understand ‘movements’ to find the players ‘quality’.
However, thanks to the injury of club captain Biglia, Bakayoko formed a dominating partnership with Frank Kessie in midfield and would go on to be Milan’s standout player during a run in which the team only picked up one defeat in 15 league games.
The decision to move the midfielder into a box-to-box role, rather than sitting deep in front of the defence, has allowed the Frenchman to flourish, using his physical strength and passing ability effectively higher up the pitch.
Milan’s fine run soon ended in a 3 – 2 derby defeat to Inter (in a game that saw Bakayoko score his only goal for the club) and results have faded since. Despite last night’s 2 – 1 win over Bologna, the team sit in 5th and face the worrying prospect of missing out on Champions League football next year, which would be detrimental for the FFP restrictions.
At one-point Milan would have snapped up the 35-million-pound midfielder in a heartbeat but now things don’t look so sure. After reports that the player wanted to leave Italy due to being subjected to racist abuse suffered against Lazio and now a visible touchline despite with Gattuso, although full details of the dispute are not known, the player looks almost certain to return to Chelsea.
If the player does not show any more examples of the petulant attitude last night, the Capital club can expect a ‘new’ player if he continues the form shown during the middle part of the season when he arrives back on British shores. With Jorginho a deadest for the defensive midfield position, Bakayoko could benefit from being given some game time in the box-to-box role that he has enjoyed at Milan.
With Kovacic looking likely to return to Madrid, Ross Barkley’s stagnation and Chelsea’s transfer ban, the Frenchman’s main competition could come in to form of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and with their qualification confirmed for next season’s Champions League, Chelsea will welcome the strength in depth.
So maybe Chelsea won’t be fools to giving Bakayoko a second chance.