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In the 2016/17 season, Leonardo Jardim's AS Monaco team took the football world by storm by winning Ligue 1, despite PSG's dominant presence in the competition. The French side was filled with young and talented players as they also reached the Champions League semi-finals. One of the stars of that special was, indeed, Tiemoue Bakayoko.
The Frenchman's career hasn't gone to plan since his move to England though, but he is still only 26 years old.
Bakayoko moved to Chelsea in 2017 while Antonio Conte was in charge, but his first season at Chelsea was very poor. Conte's idea was to introduce him slowly with Nemanja Matic being ahead of him in the line-up. However, the Serb decided to leave Chelsea for Manchester United and Bakayoko was forced into action.
He was loaned to AC Milan in the following season, where he was impressive. Despite this, the Rossoneri did not sign him. In the 2019/20 campaign, again he was loaned but this time back to his former club Monaco. Currently, Bakayoko's considered as a fringe player for Frank Lampard and is expected to be sold to balance the books.
Bakayoko could still have a role to play at Chelsea
However, it might not be the correct decision. In the current Chelsea squad, Bakayoko can offer something which no other midfielder can - provide cover for N' Golo Kante. In the current crop of Chelsea midfielders there no one who plays similar to Kante.
Lampard has suitable replacements for every midfielder in his team. For Mason Mount it can Ross Barkley, for Jorginho it can Billy Gilmour and for Kovacic, it can be Ruben Loftus-Cheek. However, there is no midfielder who can be considered as a natural replacement for Kante. The Frenchman is of immense importance to Chelsea and in big games, his absence has often been felt.
In the first leg of last season's Champions League round of 16 clash against Bayern Munich, Chelsea struggled in midfield against the Bavarians. Lampard lost the midfield as Thiago and Kimmich overpowered Kovacic and Jorginho. Would Bakayoko have helped?
It is no surprise that Chelsea lost the game, as Lampard could not call upon Kante for the game. Also against Arsenal in the FA Cup Final, Chelsea failed to deal with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and it cost them the game. It is likely that if Kante was there, Aubameyang might not have been able to make such an impact on the game.
The importance of Kante is clear and his absence hurts Chelsea. They don't have a natural replacement for him and Bakayoko can be the player who can provide cover for the former Leicester City midfielder. The difference in quality is obviously there, but Bakayoko won't be there to challenge Kante. Instead, he'd act as back-up in case of injuries, suspension or for rotation of the squad.
The Blues need a player like him and alternatively, if they don't want to keep Bakayoko, they must sign someone who can physically dominate the midfield. A physically-dominating midfielder that can obstruct the flow of the game when the opponent has top players in the middle of the park.
Declan Rice would be the perfect addition and Chelsea have been linked with a move for him. However, he is likely to cost big money and the Blues might not be able to sign him this summer. Also, it is believed that Lampard wants to play him as a defender, rather than a defensive midfielder.
The other option for the club could be Valencia's Geoffrey Kondogbia. According to reports, many Valencia players are currently up for sale. The former Inter Milan midfielder is now 27 years old and can provide good competition to Kante, while his presence would add the necessary physically prowess required in Chelsea's midfield.
