Everton are thought to be interested in signing Chelsea’s Tiemoue Bakayoko this summer, according to a report by RMC Sport.
The Toffees are keen on finding a replacement for Idrissa Gana Gueye as he looks set to complete a move to Paris Saint-Germain and believe the Blues’ midfielder could be a viable option for them.
However, Chelsea will need Everton to decide against the likes of Nice’s Adrien Tameze, Mainz’s Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Olympique de Lyonnais’ France Under-21 international captain Lucas Tousart if they are to have any chance of offloading him to their Premier League counterparts.
Bakayoko’s future at Chelsea is certainly one that is up for debate this summer as it is rather unclear whether he could have a role in Frank Lampard’s side moving forward.
However, the manager’s openness about everybody getting a chance to prove their worth to the club ahead of the upcoming campaign appears to have benefitted the 24-year-old to some extent, although he was criticised for his performance against Kawasaki Frontale by the media.
Goal recently claimed Bakayoko was on a list of players that would be allowed to leave the club this summer though and that might not be surprising after how horrible his first season in English football following his £40million move from AS Monaco turned out.
The current manager was highly critical of him when he was in his punditry role as he slammed the one-time France international midfielder for his poor performance against Atletico Madrid back in 2017.
It isn’t the only time he was criticised for his displays in a Chelsea shirt, with Jamie Redknapp slating him as well. Following their 3-0 defeat to Newcastle United, he said on Sky Sports (via The Metro): “I didn’t see him sprint once. ‘He didn’t even break sweat. Newcastle wanted it more. I felt sorry for [N’Golo] Kante, he had no support whatsoever. Everything about that performance was so poor.”
According to data collected by WhoScored, he managed to average 2.2 tackles and 1.3 interceptions in his 29 Premier League appearances, which were slightly lower than the 2.2 and 1.8 respectively he recorded at Monaco a year before and the 2.3 tackles and 1.6 interceptions he had last season with AC Milan whilst on loan, where he irked the criticism of Gennaro Gattuso.
With the number of midfield options that Lampard has at his disposal at Stamford Bridge, it would not be a surprise if Chelsea looked to offload Bakayoko this summer.
It would be difficult to see any club paying the £40m that the Blues paid for him a couple of years ago. However, Everton could be a side that would be willing to stump up a significant amount of money for him as they would have the financial power to do so.
But, with so many other targets allegedly on their radar and Bakayoko’s previously poor Premier League showing, whether The Toffees look to make any advancements on their interest in the one-time France international remains to be seen.
Chelsea fans, can you see Everton taking Bakayoko off the club’s books this summer? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
