Tiemoue Bakayoko has not played for Chelsea since completing 90 minutes in the Blues' FA Cup win over Manchester United in 2018 but still faces the possibility of returning to Cobham at the end of the season. The 28-year-old has since spent four terms out on loan at AC Milan, Monaco and Napoli and is more than a year into his second stint with the current Serie A champions.
The midfielder is yet to play a game for Milan in 2022/23 despite regularly being in Stefan Pioli's matchday squad and struggled to make an impression in 15 appearances last season. Pioli noted of Bakayoko at the beginning of 2022 that he is "convinced that he is a very strong player, he was unlucky in some situations, but he had some good performances. He can do better and he will give good support to the team." But there has been little sign he believes as much.
There is a suggestion that if Bakayoko hits a certain number of appearances this term that the Rossoneri will be compelled to make his deal permanent.
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An extended deal to join Milan had been seen as the solution to provide some stability for the Frenchman's career but circumstance has dictated otherwise. Agent Marco Busiello, who helped facilitate the move, is 'very sorry' for how things have played out at the San Siro.
He said: "It's a situation that makes me sad because a year and a half ago, this transfer was strongly desired. In recent years, he has always travelled on loan, every year he had to change, settle in a new reality, bring his family to a new city.
"Returning to Milan with a two-year loan with a right to purchase that became an obligation under certain conditions made him happy.
"It seemed we had reached the end of this situation, but because of either the explosion of some players or due to injury, due to situations that got a little twisted, the second adventure at Milan didn’t work. The current status quo doesn’t do anyone any good. I’m very sorry."
Bakayoko still has 18 months remaining on his Chelsea contract, with another move likely awaiting the former Monaco star in the summer. Busiello anticipates looking for a transfer but will monitor the ongoing situation with Milan too.
The agent added: "We’ll see, we’ll calmly evaluate the opportunities with Milan. He has another year of contract with Chelsea after the current one. We’ll look around together."
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