Tiemoue Bakayoko Will Not Return to Chelsea in January, Says Agent

Tiemoue Bakayoko will not end his loan spell with AC Milan early and return to parent club Chelsea in the January transfer window, according to intermediary Federico Pastorello.

"Bakayoko is happy at AC Milan and the club is happy with what he is doing," Pastorello told Daniele Longo at Calciomercato.com. "We knew he would take time to adapt, but everybody believes that he will help the team during the season. Any speculation about his return to Chelsea is simply untrue."

The agent worked on the deal to take Bakayoko to AC Milan on a season-long loan. However, the Frenchman has struggled to make an impact at the San Siro and is yet to start in Serie A for the Rossoneri.

Chelsea invested heavily to bring in Bakayoko from Monaco in 2017 after he helped the club win the Ligue 1 title. However, his £40 million move to Stamford Bridge did not work out, and the Blues allowed him to leave on loan in August.

The temporary deal also includes the option for AC Milan to sign the 24-year-old permanently for €40 million (£35 million), per Calciomercato.

Bakayoko has made only two starts for AC Milan, both in the Europa League, with his four Serie A appearances all coming as a substitute.

Football writer Alex Goldberg offered his view:

AC Milan considered cutting his loan deal short due to his poor performances, per Corriere dello Sport (h/t Daily Mirror's Mark Jones).

AC Milan boss Gennaro Gattuso offered his opinion on the midfielder, per Jones: "Bakayoko has to learn how to get the ball. We must work correctly. It will not be easy. One week is not enough to remove the defects of a player. I would have preferred to be managing older, more experienced club players."

The 24-year-old faces a big fight for minutes at the San Siro this season. The club have plenty of options, such as Lucas Biglia, Giacomo Bonaventura and Franck Kessie. Bakayoko may need to get used to life on the bench.

He's unlikely to see much game time if he were to return to Chelsea. The Blues are flying under new manager Maurizio Sarri and are level on points with Manchester City and Liverpool at the top of the table.

The Italian also has a wealth of midfield options at his disposal with N'Golo Kante, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Cesc Fabregas, Ross Barkley, Danny Drinkwater and Ruben Loftus-Cheek all central midfield options.

Bakayoko may have to wait until the summer before he does return to Chelsea. But as things stand, he looks to have little future at Stamford Bridge and may be on the move again next summer.