Tiemoue Bakayoko thanks agent Michy Batshuayi after sealing Chelsea move

French midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko gave a special mention to striker Michy Batshuayi after he sealed his transfer to Stamford Bridge last week.


The 22-year-old becomes the Blues’ second-most expensive signing of all-time after he arrived for £40m from Ligue 1 champions AS Monaco.

In his first interview, Bakayoko admitted that he had followed Chelsea keenly in the Premier League, and Antonio Conte played a part in luring him to Stamford Bridge. The midfielder, later on, watched his teammates earn a comfortable 8-2 win over Fulham in a pre-season friendly behind closed doors, and shortly after he posted a cheeky tweet thanking ‘agent Batshuayi’.

He wrote: “Thanks to my agent @mbatshuayi. I would like to say thank you to all my fans and followers for your kind words throughout this journey – as you know, I love championships! As a Ligue 1 champion, I am even more determined to win as many championships as I can with my dream team Chelsea. I am pleased to represent the Blues!”

Bakayoko had undergone a minor operation on his knee following the end of the previous campaign, and this slowed down his progress of joining the Premier League holders. Due to this delay, Manchester United had been brought into the mix to acquire his services, but the Blues managed to fend off the late approach in order to prevent a similar occurrence to that of Romelu Lukaku.

The former Rennes man becomes the Blues’ third recruit of the summer transfer window following the arrivals of goalkeeper Willy Caballero and defender Antonio Rudiger – the former on a Bosman move from the Etihad. Bakayoko proved a commanding presence for Monaco during the course of their title-winning seasons, and the Blues’ faithful could see the player revel alongside N’Golo Kante, who was named the PFA Player of the Year for the 2016/17 season.