Bakayoko leaves Chelsea – and this time it looks to be for good

Tiemoue Bakayoko has ended his Chelsea misery by returning to former club Monaco on a season-long loan.

The 25-year-old France midfielder joined the Blues from the then-Ligue 1 champions in July 2017 for a fee of £30m, but struggled to make an impression and was sent on loan to AC Milan for the 2018-19 campaign.

He is now back at the Stade Louis II, as first rumoured last month, and will reunite with head coach Leonardo Jardim and Cesc Fabregas, with whom he played in Chelsea’s FA Cup final-winning team of 2018.

Monaco announced Bakayoko’s arrival on Saturday evening and they revealed they have an option to buy the one-cap France international from Frank Lampard’s side for a fee believed to be around €25m (£22m).

Bakayoko made 24 Premier League starts at Chelsea and remains under contract until 2022.

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