Chelsea to complete second major summer signing on Friday

Chelsea have finally made a breakthrough in their pursuit of Tiemoue Bakayoko and will aim to announce his arrival on Friday when the Monaco midfielder undergoes his medical, reports The Daily Telegraph.

Antonio Conte’s side have been in negotiations for Bakayoko with the Ligue 1 champions all summer, but talks stalled after the midfielder underwent minor knee surgery at the end of last season.

However, Chelsea have now agreed a £39.7m deal, plus add-ons, with Monaco, although Conte fears the 22-year-old may not be fit to make his first-team debut until September.

Bakayoko is still recovering from knee surgery and is now facing the prospect of missing Chelsea’s opening league fixtures against Burnley, Tottenham and Everton.

The France international has also been heavily linked with a move to Manchester United but is now poised to become Chelsea’s second major signing of the summer after they confirmed Antonio Rudiger’s arrival from Roma last weekend.   

In Ligue 1 last season only Benjamin Andre (214) and Julien Feret (195) won possession in the midfield third more times than Bakayoko (165).

For more stats on Tiemoue Bakayoko, click here to visit his WhoScored player page