Chelsea is willing to sell Tiemoue Bakayoko to AC Milan but intends to recoup almost the £40 million they spent on signing the midfielder in 2017.
The 25-year-old is expected to meet the target as Chelsea look to help finance a summer spending spree that has already seen Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner arrive at the club, while talks will continue with Bayer Leverkusen over a deal worth at least £70m for Kai Havertz.
Bakayoko was the second-most expensive player in Chelsea’s history when he joined from Monaco three years ago but his career was stalled badly at Stamford bridge.
After a mixed first season under Antonio Conte, Bakayoko was frozen out by Maurizio Sarri and spent the 2018-19 campaign on loan at Milan.
Frank Lampard replaced Sarri and endorsed another loan with Monaco, where he was disappointed and as a result the Ligue 1, the club decided not to take up an option to make the deal permanent.
However, Milan is keen on bringing Bakayoko back to the San Siro and although Chelsea is willing to do business, they would prefer a straight sale or a loan, with an obligation to buy rather than an option.
One report in Italy suggests that Milan is prepared to offer a £2.6m loan fee with an option to buy at a fixed price of £31m.
The figure brings an overall deal that is close to Chelsea’s valuation but further talks are expected.
However, Bakayoko has two years to end his £100,000 a-week contract.
