Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko has revealed his ambition to play for Paris Saint-Germain after an impressive season at Milan.
Coming on the back of a successful loan spell at AC Milan, Tiemoue Bakayoko could become a vital part of Chelsea next season due to their impending transfer ban. However, that hasn’t deterred the Frenchman from publicly revealing his ambition to play for his hometown club Paris Saint-Germain – as reported by L’Equipe.
This comes after PSG confirmed the return of Leonardo Araujo as the club’s sporting director. The former Brazilian footballer was Milan’s sporting director last season but will now move back to Paris after six years. He played a key role in bringing in Bakayoko on loan to Milan last summer.
“[PSG sporting director] Leonardo brought me to Milan, it was he who allowed me to recover my form by putting his trust in me. I have a lot of respect for him and Milan. I’m glad he’s coming to Paris, they’re the club of my heart and city. I’m sure he’ll do a good job. I wish him the best there. Of course, I’d like to play in Paris, I won’t deny it.”, Bakayoko said during an interview with L’Equipe.
Realistically, a move to PSG might make sense for Bakayoko in light of Adrien Rabiot’s potential departure from the capital. The French international’s current contract with the club will expire at the end of this month and he has been linked with a move to Manchester United, Juventus among others.
Rabiot’s departure could free up space in the midfield department, thus making way for Bakayoko to compete with Leandro Paredes at the base of PSG’s setup. The Chelsea star could provide the physical presence in midfield, which could make him an ideal partner to a more technically astute figure of Marco Verratti.
Speaking of Chelsea, however, it is unlikely they will be fazed with the departure of Bakayoko. The Blues already boast the services of players like Jorginho, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and N’Golo Kante among others, nearly all of who are versatile enough to be deployed in different roles in midfield.
But, at the same time, Chelsea will lose out on the services of Mateo Kovacic, who will return to Real Madrid following the end of his season-loan loan deal.
Hence, keeping hold of someone as industrious as Bakayoko might be a wiser decision for the Blues, who are not permitted to sign any player for the next two transfer windows. In addition, Chelsea have confirmed the departure of Maurizio Sarri to Juventus and it’s probably needless to say that the new manager would want to have as many options available as possible as the Blues look to recover from these turbulent times.
