Chelsea loanee in talks to join Lyon after rejecting move to Turkey - Reports
According to Fabrizio Romano, Olympique Lyonnais are exploring the possibility of signing Tiemoue Bakayoko from Chelsea, although he is currently on loan at AC Milan. Lyon have started negotiations to acquire the former French international's services, whom they previously tried to sign three years ago.
Bakayoko signed with the West London club in 2017 on a five-year contract following his impressive performances with Monaco. He helped the side win the Ligue 1 title and progress to the Champions League semi-finals, even getting a call-up to the French national team.
#OL #DeadlineDay
Understand Olympique Lyon have now opened talks to sign Tiemoué Bakayoko from Chelsea — currently on loan to AC Milan. 🚨🔴🔵 #OL #DeadlineDay
Deal not done with Serie A Cremonese and so OL are now trying. https://t.co/I9Nwu4nms5
However, he has since struggled to reach those heights. Despite inking a five-year contract with Chelsea back in 2017, Bakayoko was unable to make a significant mark on the team and was subsequently loaned out.
In 2021, he secured a two-year loan deal with Milan with an option to purchase, with his contract at Chelsea being extended until 2024. Unfortunately, frequent injuries and lackluster defensive displays have limited his playing time, and he is yet to feature for the Rossoneri this season.
The Blues reportedly inserted a clause in the loan agreement that would require Milan to complete a permanent transfer for Bakayoko if certain conditions were met. However, Milan have no intention of making the transfer permanent, and Bakayoko has been searching for other options.
🚨 Lyon are in talks to sign Tiemoué Bakayoko, who is currently on loan at AC Milan, after his move to Cremonese stalled.
(Source: @FabrizioRomano)
#DeadlineDay https://t.co/WKdAnnaIQ0
Last week, Turkish club Adana Demirspor expressed interest in signing the 28-year-old, but the player declined the offer. Bakayoko has also been linked with a move to Serie-A side Cremonese in the past couple of days, but Lyon's involvement could mean that the Italian side will lose out.
With time quickly running out, Lyon are attempting to finalize a deal with Chelsea, who recently signed Lyon's right-back Malo Gusto. Negotiations are ongoing and it remains to be seen whether an agreement can be reached in time.
Chelsea complete Malo Gusto deal from Lyon
The Blues have completed the transfer of Lyon right-back Malo Gusto for a fee of £26.3 million. According to Sky Sports, Gusto has signed a seven-and-a-half-year contract with the Blues.
However, he will spend the remainder of the season on loan at his former club, Lyon. This follows the promise made to manager Laurent Blanc by the Lyon board that Gusto would remain at the club for the rest of the season.
Gusto will provide competition and back-up for right-back Reece James at Chelsea.