Tiemoue made in Chelsea…
DEJAN LOVREN believes the arrival of winger Mohamed Salah will help Liverpool break down stubborn defences that caused them so many problems last season.
Egypt star Salah, right, scored on his first appearance for the club in Friday’s 1-1 draw at Wigan and Lovren said: “He’s only had six days with us but he will be perfect in our system.” TIEMOUE Bakayoko has hailed former Chelsea stars Didier Drogba and Claude Makelele as two major influences on his career.
Bakayoko has joined the champions from Monaco in a deal worth £40million and aspiring Chelsea midfielders can have few better role models than Makelele, now assistant coach at Swansea but formerly winner of two league titles and three major cups at Stamford Bridge.
Makelele was technical director at Monaco during Bakayoko’s formative years and became a mentor.
Bakayoko, 22, said: “When he arrived at Monaco I wasn’t very good but I had a lot of discussions with Claude, he gave me a lot of advice and allowed me to play my style more simply.”
Drogba has also proved inspirational, albeit from a distance.
“Drogba has had a stellar career and did so many great things, first at Marseille and then here,” said Bakayoko.
“He is definitely an example I wish to follow.” LEICESTER are determined to get at least £40 million for Riyad Mahrez as Roma continue to show an interest in the Algeria forward. The Italians see Mahrez, left, as a replacement for Mohamed Salah, who they sold to Liverpool, but value him at just over £25m. Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea are also monitoring the situation.
BRIGHTON’s club-record £5.2million deal for Ghent’s Brazilian midfielder Renato Neto has fallen through after the former Sporting Lisbon player failed a medical.