Bengaluru, September 12: Liverpool midfielder Fabinho has claimed that Chelsea will regret the decision to loan out midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko to AC Milan without giving him a fair chance at London.
Bakayoko signed for Chelsea last season after a sensational campaign with Monaco two years ago which saw them beating Paris Saint-Germain to the Ligue 1 title and reaching the semifinals of the Chmapions League. Both Fabinho and Bakayoko shared a formidable partnership in the midfield which drove their team to the title in 2016.
Bakayoko, however, decided to move away from France last season and signed for Premier League winners Chelsea for £40million under Antonio Conte. However, his debut campaign did not go according to expectations. The 24-year-old started only 24 of their 38 league games and struggled to make an impact as Chelsea finished fifth, missing out on Champions League qualification.
Following the exit of Conte and the arrival of Maurizio Sarri as coach, Chelsea loaned out Bakayoko to AC Milan and the Italian giants have the option to make the deal permanent at the end of the current season.
But Fabinho, who arrived in Liverpool this season, says he believes that Chelsea will ultimately end up regretting allowing the midfielder to leave as the Blues have not seen the best of the Frenchman yet.
"I don't think he struggled too much. I watched a few games and he seemed always good to me. AC Milan are getting a great player" Fabinho on Bakayoko's Chelsea Performance
— Nouman (@nomifooty) September 11, 2018
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['Always' seemed good to me 👀] pic.twitter.com/ErYYfQngTq
“I don’t think he struggled that much,” he told Yahoo. “I watched a few games and he seemed always good to me. Obviously, in your first season in a new club it’s always difficult and I wasn’t expecting him to leave, but AC Milan are getting a great player.
“I’m sure he’ll be able to prove how good he is and show what he did at Monaco.
“I am sure if he comes back to England he will be stronger and will show everyone what he’s capable of.”
🗣 "He must learn some basic things like how to receive the ball. He must learn the right position of his body. One week is not enough to fix flaws.”
— Football Tweet (@Football__Tweet) August 28, 2018
- AC Milan Gennaro Gattuso on Tiemoue Bakayoko. pic.twitter.com/ox2MhsFiur
Bakayoko, however, is yet to make an impact in Italy too. The midfielder has not started either of Milan's Serie A games so far. He has appeared as a second-half substitute in their season-opening 3-2 loss away to Napoli.