Hijack 2.0
Going after Tiemoue Bakayoko deal
MANCHESTER UNITED aim to beat Chelsea to another of their top summer transfer targets after agreeing a £35m (RM193m) fee for Monaco star Tiemoue Bakayoko.
The bitter blow for Blues boss Antonio Conte comes just 48 hours after Chelsea failed in a 11th hour attempt to persuade Romelu Lukaku to return to Stamford Bridge rather than move to United.
And to add insult to injury, Lukaku claimed yesterday he snubbed Chelsea’s advances to join the “biggest team in the world”.
DailyStar revealed last week that Chelsea were unwilling to sell Nemanja Matic to United after being gazumped on Lukaku.
But Jose Mourinho looks set to leave Chelsea’s deal makers with egg on their face yet again after lining up France midfielder Bakayoko, 22, to boost his engine room.
At least Conte did manage to complete the capture of one of his summer targets yesterday after Germany defender Antonio Rudiger joined from Roma in deal which could rise to £34m (RM188m).
Rudiger, who has signed a fiveyear deal, expressed his delight at being offered the chance to play for a club the size of champions Chelsea.
But the consequences of a second failure to clinch a deal that seemed all but settled do not bare thinking about for a manager and club that prides itself on dramatic transfer swoops.
Already feeling let down over the loss of Lukaku, Conte is likely to be incandescent if a second major signing slips through his grasp.
Even Chelsea website We Ain’t Got No History expressed frustration at the situation. “Rüdiger’s medical took approximately nine days. It feels like Tiemoué Bakayoko’s medical is taking nine weeks. But never fear, this week is the week that it’s actually going to happen,” they claimed. Maybe. There have been reports of AS Monaco themselves growing frustrated with the delays – leading to speculation that Chelsea will be gazumped once again.
The transfer is already trying everyone’s patience with its inexplicable delays and mysterious inaction after Chelsea seemingly sealed the € 40m (RM196m) deal with both the club and the player in the middle of June.
Despite a move for Juventus’s Alex Sandro looking close, Chelsea’s overall transfer plan seems to be in collapse.
The Daily Mail claim their move for Bakayoko has stalled and is now unlikely to go through. It is understood that if United are unable to clinch the Matic deal they will seal the deal for Bakayoko.
This would be another blow to Conte’s summer transfer plan to strengthen his title-winning side. And the fact that he beat Manchester to City to Rudiger – a player coveted by Pep Guardiola – will be of scant consolation if he loses a second big name to United. While Chelsea do like to wait until July to get our business done, with pre-season getting underway now, time is starting to be of the essence for ideal preparations. The players reported back at Cobham yesterday, with Rüdiger in tow but not yet Bakayoko. Where the player ends up could have a significance for the season that far outweighs his playing ability. – Daily Star/ Agencies