Chelsea Slash Tiemoué Bakayoko Asking Price to Encourage AC Milan Bid
By Tom Gott
Chelsea are prepared to lower their asking price for midfielder Tiemoué Bakayoko to £20m to help facilitate a move to AC Milan this summer.
Bakayoko was Chelsea's second-most expensive transfer ever when he sealed his £40m move to Stamford Bridge in 2017, but after a disasterous first season in England, he was shipped out on loan to Milan, where he enjoyed an impressive campaign.
I Rossoneri declined to make the move permanent back then as the option to buy stood at over £30m, but according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Milan are ready to do business now at a lower fee.
Chelsea have made no secret of their desire to offload Bakayoko, having sent him out on loan to both Milan and Monaco in the hope that one side would decide to sign him permanently. Now, their desire to spend big this summer has moved him closer to the Stamford Bridge exit door.
Bakayoko is well aware of that and his representatives have already been speaking to Milan. The Frenchman has decided he wants to return to the club and is ready to take a pay cut to seal the move, and Milan are readying a bid of between £13m and £18m.
If it's towards the top end of that bracket, Chelsea may be tempted to accept. The Sun state that the Blues are holding out for £20m, but the chance to get his £100,000-a-week wages off the books could lead to a compromise.
While this all seems encouraging for Chelsea fans, it might not be so simple as Milan are taking a look at a number of options. Benfica's Florentino Luís is believed to be their top target and Atalanta's Matteo Pessina is also on the radar.
This may be Chelsea's last chance to get a big fee for Bakayoko. He has just two years left on his contract and is clearly not wanted by manager Frank Lampard, so compromising with a fee closer to the £15m might be in everyone's best interest.
That money would aid Chelsea in their quest to sign some of the world's top talents this summer. Talks over a £90m move for Bayer Leverkusen's Kai Havertz are expected to accelerate following the German side's elimination from the Europa League, while fellow targets Ben Chilwell and Declan Rice are both valued at close to the £80m mark by Leicester and West Ham respectively.