Chelsea loanee rejects chance to change clubs despite not playing regularly - Reports
Chelsea loanee Tiemoue Bakayoko has rejected the chance to leave AC Milan and join Turkish side Adana Demirspor, as per Calciomercato journalist Daniele Longo (h/t ChelseaChronicle).
Bakayoko joined the Blues from AS Monaco in the summer of 2017 for a fee believed to be in the region of €40 million. Since then, he has completely failed to get a foothold in the club's first-team set-up.
He has made just 43 appearances for Chelsea despite being on the club's books for five-and-a-half years. During that time, he has been loaned four times — to Napoli, AS Monaco, and twice to AC Milan.
I Rossoneri signed him on a two-year loan deal in the summer of 2021 with a €15 million buy-option inserted into his contract. As per Gazzetta (h/t Football-Italia), the option becomes an obligation if he plays at least 45 minutes in 15 official games in the 2022-23 season.
🚨🚨 #Bakayoko ha rifiutato tutte le destinazioni: resta al #Milan fino al termine della stagione @cmdotcom
He featured in 18 games across competitions last term but is yet to play a single minute of football this campaign. AC Milan has reportedly made it clear that they want to keep Bakayoko on the bench this season.
A loan move to Adana Demirspor could have been a way out of this situation. But the 28-year-old has rejected the chance to move to Turkey and wants to see out the season with AC Milan.
Meanwhile, his contract at Chelsea runs out in the summer of 2024. Time is running out for the Blues if they want to recoup a portion of the fee they paid for him back in 2017.
It remains to be seen if they will try to push him out of Stamford Bridge once he returns to west London this summer.
AC Milan manager confirms Chelsea loanee's availability for Sassuolo tie
AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli has confirmed Chelsea loanee Tiemoue Bakayoko's availability for the Serie A clash against Sassuolo on Sunday (29 January).
Speaking at his press conference before his team host I Neroverdi at the San Siro, Piolo said (h/t MilanReports):
"Baka is available, he trains well and then I make the best choices for the team."
Milan currently trails league leaders Napoli by 12 points after 19 league games. Given the importance of each upcoming league fixture in this scenario, it is hard to imagine Pioli putting Bakayoko in his starting XI given his lack of match fitness.
The former Monaco midfielder has played just 10 minutes of Serie A football since February 2022. He won the Scudetto last term but it seems his time at AC Milan will come to an end sooner rather than later.