Drogba influence is taking Chelsea Baka to the future
ARSENAL must have reckoned they had seen the last of Didier Drogba. The Ivorian striker, who used to bully their defenders mercilessly, had a remarkable record against Chelsea’s London rivals, with 13 goals in 15 games.
But t oday at Stamford Bridge, Arsenal wil l r un i nt o Drogba’s influence again in the form of Tiemoue Bakayoko. The midfi e l der, who impressed Europe last season as the enforcer and pivot in a Monaco team that swept aside Tottenham and Manchester City, has family from Ivory Coast. And the Drogba factor is one of the reasons he has joined Chelsea.
Bakayoko was born in Paris but it was only last month that he finally committed to playing for France over Ivory Coast. Growing up, he followed the Premier League club for which the Ivorian legend Drogba played.
‘Chelsea has always been a club I liked since I was young, especially because of guys like Didier Drogba being here,’ said Bakayoko, who scored his first goal for Chelsea against Qarabag on Tuesday.
‘I would make a point of watching their games and I had this club close to my heart growing up, so I’m really happy to be wearing their shirt. I made the choice to come to Chelsea a lot because of the coach and after speaking to him. And I spoke to the people around me and my family. It seemed like the best opportunity.’
Like so many young French players, Bakayoko is a child of the Paris suburbs, specifically the 14th arrondissement, near Orly airport. He wears the No 14 in honour of his roots and talks fondly of his five brothers and sisters and his memories growing up there as a Paris Saint-Germain fan.
That said, he rejected PSG because he felt his chances would be better at Rennes as a teenager. He also had to overcome the disappointment of being rejected by the French national football centre at Clairefontaine, which he puts down to the fact that he played the fool at school and his grades counted against him.
Once, you might have assumed Bakayoko was the kind of player Arsenal would have been all over. Not only is he French, and the kind of holding midfielder they always seem to lack these days, he comes from Wenger’s former club, Monaco.
‘Wenger is a legend at Monaco,’ said Bakayoko. ‘He spent a few years there and they have great memories of him. During the time I was there, they spoke a lot to me about him. And today he’s doing a very good job at Arsenal. He’s a very good coach and I’m happy to have the chance to play against his club.’
Of the criticism that Wenger receives, Bakayoko is understandably equivocal. ‘It’s nothing to do with me really. But he’s done very great work at Arsenal. I can’t really add to that, but it’s always been something we’re proud about, to have a French compatriot coaching Arsenal.’
Bakayoko is no shrinking violet. He documented his move to Chelsea on Instagram and drove a pink Porsche at Monaco when he arrived, a bold choice for a player who was struggling to get in the first team at the time.
He credits coaches at his former club Rennes for putting him back on the right track when they visited him at Monaco after his initial difficulties settling in. ‘You read all those stories,’ he told France Football last year. ‘They said that I liked fine things, that I wasn’t a hard worker. They said that I’d come for the better wages, a beautiful house. I didn’t really enjoy that. It got to me. The things that people say aren’t always true.’
Perhaps wisely, he changed his car and knuckled down. With the help of another Chelsea legend, Claude Makelele, the former technical director at Monaco who became eponymous with the holding role, Bakayoko broke into the team which won Ligue 1 in 2016 and dominated teams such as Spurs and City in the Champions League last season.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is impressed. He sees him as a player who will evolve into the complete midfielder and a natural partner to N’Golo Kante. ‘He has a lot of room to improve in tactical aspect, also in physical aspect,’ said Conte. ‘But Baka has been a good signing for us. He needs a bit more time than other players to understand very well our style of football. Above all if you are a midfielder, you need time to understand the right position. But I’m very happy because he’s improving and in the last 10 days he improved a lot in the tactical aspect, also in the physical aspect. Havi n g th is powerful player is very important, above all in this league. This league is very tough physically. If you are not prepared for this impact you can suffer a lot. He can improve a lot with the ball. We are working about this aspect. ‘ We di d t he s ame with N’Golo when he arrived here. Now you can see a complete player with the ball, without the ball. Now he’s becoming better with the ball. We want to work in the same way to have this process with Baka.’ Bakayoko is not cowed by the challenges he faces. He added: ‘I’ve seen from my first matches that the Premier League is a hard league, the best in the world I think. But I get a lot of pleasure out of being part of that and already I see my game is going to progress from being here. For me it really is the best championship there is, if not for everybody. I prefer football that is pretty tough physically. That suits my characteristics.’ And the pressure of stepping into Nemanja Matic’s boots? ‘I don’t feel that at all. I did have the chance to see him playing when I first came here and we spoke a lot together, and got on very well. He wished me all the best, just as I wished him all the best at Manchester United. ‘I have come here to follow my own path, and write my own story.’