Sky Sports is reporting that Chelsea have finally agreed a fee of $51.7 million with AS Monaco for defensive midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko.
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The 22-year-old destroyed has been linked with a move to Chelsea for much of the past month but he required minor knee surgery after helping Monaco win Ligue 1 and reach the UEFA Champions League semifinals last season, hence the delay.
Per the report, Bakayoko will have his medical later this week at Chelsea before completing the long-awaited move.
Manchester United were said to be interested in Bakayoko, but Chelsea were the frontrunners all along and in connection with Bakayoko’s imminent arrival it is believed Nemanja Matic could leave Chelsea and head to Manchester United but relations between the two clubs are strained after United beat Chelsea to the signing of Romelu Lukaku.
What can Chelsea’s fans expect from Bakayoko?
He’s a pure defensive midfielder who will shield the defense but it also capable of pressing high and making surging runs from central midfield. A good comparison already playing in the Premier League would be Victor Wanyama.
Bakayoko isn’t a flashy player but like N’Golo Kante, who he will likely line up alongside, the French international does the simple things extremely well and he’ll add an extra steel to Antonio Conte’s midfield.
Following goalkeeper Willy Caballero arriving on a free transfer and center back Antonio Rudiger coming in for $43.9 million, Bakayoko will bolster Chelsea’s midfield options with youngsters Ruben Loftus-Cheek loaned out to Crystal Palace and Nathaniel Chalobah set to join Watford.
It will be intriguing to see how Cesc Fabregas slots into this Chelsea midfield but there’s no doubting Conte will go with a 3-4-3 once again as he prefers two strong defensive midfielders in the center of midfield. Kante and Bakayoko will provide just that.