26-year-old Blues player to return to Chelsea next season, Madrid first team star to miss Chelsea return leg, as Kante sends warning to Hazard and Courtois
Tiemoue Bakayoko had a productive appearance for Napoli at the weekend, netting the opening goal for their away win over Torino for the Serie A.
His display resulted in many compliments from the Italian press, and it is impossible to talk about the player’s success without analysing the possibilities the Frenchman has for the future.
Corriere Del Mezzogiorno has a story about Bakayoko, claiming that in spite of his good form, he is not staying on a permanent move from the Blues.
Loaned by Chelsea at the start of the season, the 26-year-old star struggled to adapt to I Partenopei, having many ups and downs thus far.
Chelsea and Napoli didn’t agree a price for a permanent move, and that has pointed out as one of the reasons why his stay in Italy is not happening.
“He made mistakes mainly due to lack of clarity, when he arrived at Napoli he hadn’t played for seven months and also suffered the difficulties of the team that is the most complex moments struggled to have balance,” the outlet says.
Tiemoue is having his third loan in a row, following stints at AC Milan, AS Monaco and Napoli. His current deal with Chelsea expires in June 2022.
Madrid first team star to miss Chelsea return leg
The good news goes on for Chelsea ahead of their second leg clash with Real Madrid in the Champions League next week.
Los Blancos are plagued by injuries, and they’re not easing up for the second leg.
Dani Carvajal was rushed back for the first leg on Tuesday, and that’s now cost Zinedine Zidane’s team. The Spain international aggravated his issue and will now miss the rest of the season.
Ferland Mendy may return to play left back, but he’s not at 100% either, and Fede Valverde is still a doubt. Sergio Ramos is sure to miss out, and Raphael Varane is playing on one leg too.
All in all, that back line looks set to be heavily weakened.
Things couldn’t be set up better for us to get the better of Zidane’s team back at Stamford Bridge – but we’re well aware of the quality that’s left in their team. The one thing it won’t be, is easy.
Kante sends warning to Hazard and Courtois
Chelsea midfielder has warned Real Madrid and former Chelsea teammates Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois that Chelsea are confident of reaching the final after the 1-1 draw at Spain.
“We are happy for the result,” Kante said.
“Coming into this game, we knew we’d be playing against a great team and we wanted to leave with a good result so we would have the momentum ahead of the second leg at home.
“I think overall 1-1 is a fair result. We had many chances that we didn’t score but we can be happy with the draw.
“We are looking forward to playing at home and hopefully qualifying for the final.”
Kante added: “Yes, we could have scored more goals from the chances we created, but the main thing is we were creating the opportunities to score and that is a positive sign.
“For sure, reaching the final is a goal and it is possible for us now. We have to be fully focused on the second leg when it comes, because we are playing against a very strong opponent.
“We are confident in our abilities though and we must be confident that we can reach the final.”