Tiemoue Bakayoko to Chelsea Move 'Close,' May Prompt Nemanja Matic to Man United

Chelsea are reportedly closing in on the £35 million signing of AS Monaco midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko, opening the door for Nemanja Matic's potential departure to Manchester United. 

According to the Daily Mail's Sami Mokbel, Blues manager Antonio Conte made Bakayoko, 22, one of his prime summer targets, and he will be open to offers for Matic should the Frenchman make the switch to Stamford Bridge.

Mokbel added Matic is eager for a switch to Manchester United to link up with former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, while Conte has seemingly secured the signing of Bakayoko despite being "at odds with Chelsea's top brass over summer transfer deals."

IAN KINGTON/Getty Images

Bakayoko played a key role for Monaco in their impressive 2016-17 campaign as they won Ligue 1 and made the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.

He was a rock in the defensive-midfield role for Leonardo Jardim's side, playing 32 matches in Ligue 1, and it is no surprise Chelsea are interested in signing the youngster given his many attributes, per WhoScored.com:

Bakayoko and his fellow France international, N'Golo Kante, could form a formidable duo in Chelsea's engine room.

However, should he move to west London it would limit Matic's game time.

After a poor 2015-16, the 28-year-old Serb returned to his best last season as Chelsea won the Premier League, playing in 35 of the Blues' English top-flight matches.

A switch to United would see him reunited with Mourinho, who brought him back to Chelsea in 2014 after he was initially sold by the club to Benfica in 2011.

Matic would likely slot in perfectly to United's current squad as a successor to the 35-year-old Michael Carrick in the deep-lying midfield role, while his defensive attributes could make him an ideal foil for Paul Pogba.