Bakayoko so happy to sign

– Chelsea completed the signing of French international midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko (above) from Monaco, the Premier League champions announced on Saturday.

The 22-year-old joined Antonio Conte’s Chelsea on a five-year contract for a reported fee of up to £39.7 million after helping the principality side win the Ligue 1 title last season.

“I am very happy to join this great team,” Bakayoko said in a statement on the Chelsea website.

“I have grown up watching Chelsea. Signing was the natural thing for me because it is a club I loved very much in my childhood.”

Chelsea may have to do without him at the start of the season though, as Bakayoko is expected to be out for at least six weeks after having keyhole surgery on his knee at the end of last term.

Bakayoko was one of the stars of Leonardo Jardim’s youthful Monaco outfit that surprisingly beat Paris St-Germain to the French title in May, while also reaching the Champions League semifinals.

There had been speculation United might try and stymie the bid for Bakayoko just as they did with Lukaku, as they broke the record for a deal between British clubs of £75m to prise him away from Goodison Park last week.

However, Bakayoko, whom Monaco will make a tidy profit on having signed him from Rennes for £7m in 2014, had always made it clear that Chelsea was his preferred destination.

The six-time English champions head to Asia later this month for a pre-season tour, before taking on FA Cup winners Arsenal in the Community Shield on August 6, and kicking off their Premier League title defence against Burnley six days later. – AFP