It is over five years since French midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko arrived at Chelsea - and fans had huge expectations.
The £40m arrival from Monaco was fresh off the back of a Ligue 1 title success and he was anticipated to slot straight into the line-up in a Blues side who themselves were toasting a Premier League title victory under Antonio Conte. The huge fee - then the second largest in Chelsea history behind the infamous £50m fee that it took for the Blues to sign Fernando Torres from Liverpool - certainly looked like a price worth paying.
Bakayoko had played a pivotal role in Monaco’s title tilt alongside the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Fabinho and Bernardo Silva; the principality club going against the odds to halt the monopoly of French giants Paris Saint-Germain. Meanwhile, he also made 14 appearances in the Champions League ahead of his switch to Chelsea as Monaco reached the semi-finals, with Juventus eventually managing to halt their run in the competition.
Ex-Chelsea star and France manager Didier Deschamps was also a big fan of the then 23-year-old, having hailed him as a “complete midfielder” following Bakayoko’s debut for Les Bleus.
Despite the Monaco man being on the losing side against Spain, he said: "He's a complete midfielder. He has an important athletic presence, he's good at recovery, he scores decisive goals and is able to project himself."
The excitement at his £40m move to Stamford Bridge then was understandable. After all, the Blues are a club that had put together a stunning list of midfield stars. The likes of Frank Lampard, John Obi Mikel, Michael Essien as well as Bakayoko’s compatriot’s Claude Makelele and N’Golo Kante have all written themselves into club folklore.
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Even a minimalistic impact compared to that aforementioned five would have been satisfying but even then, Bakayoko has not come anywhere close.
He endured a disastrous debut campaign despite having made 43 appearances in all competitions. The midfielder looked miles off the pace with his low point arguably coming in an embarrassing 4-1 reverse against Watford where he was sent off after just 30 minutes.
As quickly as Bakayoko had arrived at Chelsea, he was then gone as he joined AC Milan on a season-long loan in 2018. There were promising signs at the San Siro but the Rossoneri elected not to make the move permanent.
Former club Monaco then took the Frenchman back to the Stade Louis II in a move that looked to be ideal in getting his career back on track. Even Bakayoko himself pointed to the fact he was now looking forward to more regular football.
Speaking at his unveiling, he said: "There was a good opportunity to come back here in a very good project. Lots of people will perhaps say that I am taking a step back by coming to Monaco, but I see it differently.
"My two experiences abroad allowed me to play a lot, contrary to what a lot of people have said. My season in Milan brought me a lot in terms of new avenues of football and professionalism. I have taken a lot of positive things away from it."
It was an all-too familiar story for the midfielder after being afforded just 20 league starts back with his former club - and fans were unable to recognise a player who only two years prior looked at the top of his game.
To his credit, Bakayoko continued to seek opportunities elsewhere instead of just hoovering up his wages at Chelsea and there were surprise signs of recovery with yet another loan move to Napoli. It finally looked as though he had found a permanent home at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona with reports at the time suggesting that the Serie A side were keen to sign the midfielder on a permanent deal.
That did not materialise though and he then completed his fourth loan switch in as many seasons by penning a two-year deal with AC Milan once more - and surprisingly signed a new contract with Chelsea in the process.
Bakayoko’s career has hit new lows back at the San Siro though. His struggles have been evidenced by just 18 appearances, only five of those coming this calendar year.
Milan boss Stefano Pioli remained optimistic over the midfielder’s chances of making an impact. Speaking earlier this year, he said: “The difficulties he had had are due to his physical condition, he arrived with some problems and it took him some time.
“He changed his playing principles and it takes some time. I am convinced that he is a very strong player, he was unlucky in some situations, but he had some good performances. He can do better and he will give good support to the team.”
Now 28 years old, Bakayoko’s opportunities at the San Siro have evaporated however, having not played a single minute for the reigning Serie A champions, whilst he was left out of the club’s squad for the Champions League group stage.
That has seen him miss out on a reunion with his parent club Chelsea with the two sides set to clash in Milan on Tuesday evening. That meeting with the Blues will likely have to wait until next summer with Bakayoko set to return to Stamford Bridge for the final season of his contract where there will likely be discussions on his future.
Before that though, the Blues and indeed Bakayoko will have to reflect on a move that has gone disastrously wrong despite the huge acclaim when he arrived at Stamford Bridge.
