- To undergo a full medical on Friday
Chelsea have agreed a deal worth just under £40m for Monaco midfielder Tiemoué Bakayoko, as a protracted transfer looks set to finally end for the Premier League champions to make their third signing of the close season so far.
The 22-year-old will now undergo a full medical on Friday, with the move having previously been partly delayed by the French international having to go through routine keyhole surgery on his knee at the end of Monaco’s Ligue 1 title win. That is not expected to cause any further issues, although Bakayoko is unlikely to be able to start for Chelsea until September.
A further delay was because of extended negotiations between the clubs, although the player himself had decided early on that he wanted to go to Stamford Bridge and was never interested in going elsewhere, despite mooted interest from Manchester United. That eventually led to the two clubs agreeing a package that will see Chelsea pay £39.7m for the player.
He will join fellow new signings Willy Caballero, from Manchester City, and Antonio Rudiger, from Roma, with manager Antonio Conte still intent on bringing in Danilo from Real Madrid and a striker.
The signing of Bakayoko is meanwhile likely to see Nemanja Matic leave the club, although the English champions are now reluctant to sell the player to his first choice of Manchester United, after the Old Trafford hierarchy managed to hijack Chelsea’s bid for Romelu Lukaku.
