AC Milan midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko has been heavily praised by the Rossoneri manager Gennaro Gattuso and been compared to Chelsea and Milan legend Marcel Desailly.
Things finally seem to be going in the right direction for Chelsea’s on-loan midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko following a difficult start to life in the Serie A. Having struggled at Chelsea last term following his big-money move from Ligue 1 giants AS Monaco, the Frenchman joined the Gennaro Gattuso’s side as Maurizio Sarri allowed him to depart on a temporary basis.
Bakayoko was heavily criticized for his performances early in August and there was also talk that Milan could even cut short his loan spell and send him back to Chelsea in the January transfer window. But the 24-year-old midfielder seems to have taken his game to another level in recent weeks proving his critics wrong.
Bakayoko’s commanding display in the center of the pitch against Parma on Sunday was extremely impressive and AC Milan is finally reaping the best of the highly talented midfielder. Even AC Milan manager stated that he was very happy with Bakayoko’s improvement.
While speaking to news outlet Calciomercato, the Italian manager compared Bakayoko to former French legend Marcel Desailly, “Bakayoko? Bakayoko’s biggest surprise is his improvement on a tactical level. We knew the physical abilities he has. I like for how he listens, for how he moves. You are seeing a Bakayoko who closes more lines of passage, impacts more and pinches forward. It’s what he missed earlier, today he does not touch it more than twice, and it’s an important sign. With my assistant, we said he reminds us of [Marcel] Desailly, even if maybe Bakayoko is even more technical.”
Chelsea always knew that there was a great player somewhere in Bakayoko but he just couldn’t handle the intensity of the Premier League. Chelsea should monitor Bakayoko’s progress if they want to bring him back to Stamford Bridge in the winter as a backup for Jorginho.
