Why moving to AC Milan from Chelsea is a good move for Tiemoue Bakayoko
According to Sky Sports, Chelsea and French midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko will join Italian club AC Milan on a season-long loan, with an option to buy the player for £35.56m. The 23-year-old has undergone a medical as well and is all set to start his career at Milan this season (h/t Daily Mail).
The former Monaco midfielder joined Chelsea last season with a high reputation of being one of the best central midfielders in the league. As things panned out, however, the Frenchman couldn’t find his feet in England. In fact, he appeared in just 25 league games and struggled to make a significant impact.
There must be a reason as to why a player, who was just fantastic in the French league, struggled so gravely with Chelsea. Below, we discuss that rationale and state as to why moving to AC Milan is the perfect move for him.
Antonio Conte’s system didn’t suit the player
Bakayoko, who joined Chelsea for a fee in the region of £40million, is a dynamic box-to-box midfield player, with a penchant for retaining possession and driving past people. He is a strong presence in central areas of the pitch and possesses the physicality to dominate games single-handedly.
However, under Conte at Chelsea, the structure of play was quite different to Leonardo Jardim’s system at Monaco. The former Italian manager’s style of play is all about sitting deep in a lower block and then hitting teams on the counter-attack.
Now, Bakayoko is adept at defending off the ball and tracking midfield runs. And the fast-paced nature of the Premier League is also tough to handle from the get-go. Hence, the Frenchman struggled to work wonders in his first season at the club. Furthermore, Chelsea were a mess last year, and it is unfair to dump all the blame on Bakayoko.
Milan and the Italian league will suit him
Hence, joining the Italian league will be a good move for the Frenchman due to two reasons – one, the nature of the Serie A is comparable to the Ligue 1 in certain aspects. Secondly, the player will definitely struggle to break into the Chelsea line-up this season, with Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic in the mix.
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Moreover, Milan will receive a quality player who merely requires a change of club to regain his confidence and get back to being the best.
