Reports suggest Marseille have agreed personal terms with Tiemoue Bakayoko over a potential transfer this summer.
According to Foot Mercato however, the club’s new manager, Igor Tudor, is not keen on the deal, and is currently halting negotiations.
Chelsea’s £40m signing from Monaco in 2017 has undoubtedly gone down as a failure, with him not playing for the club in the last four years.
Instead it has been loan after loan for the French international, with Napoli, Monaco and AC Milan all spending a short amount of time with him.
It is the Italian champions who currently have Bakayoko on loan, with them unable to get out of their two-year obligation despite him hardly featuring last season.
Marseille agree deal for Bakayoko
This could leave all parties open to a change of scenery, and Foot Mercato have claimed that Marseille’s former manager, Jorge Sampoli, had given the deal the green light for him to leave.
That could benefit Chelsea, who would surely love to get the Frenchman off their books once and for all.
Now though, Tudor has made it clear the 27-year-old is not part of his plans, potentially leading to another of season of sporadic appearances despite being in the prime of his career.
There is no chance of a sensational return to form at Stamford Bridge, with him not included in Thomas Tuchel’s plans for the future, and the club forcing Milan to acknowledge their two-year agreement.
The Blues may be looking to add to their midfield position given the uncertainty over the future of Jorginho and N’golo Kante.
It has been reported the club are at the front of the queue to sign highly-rated Matheus Nunes from Sporting Lisbon, with his performances particularly in the Champions league turning a lot of heads among Europe’s elite.
Bakayoko however simply did not show the quality on the ball required to play in the Premier League, with his passing especially falling way below the required level at the top of the game.