A £40m David Moyes target who recently watched West Ham has been released by Chelsea as Tiemoue Bakayoko becomes a free agent.
West Ham have been heavily linked with signing Tiemoue Bakayoko from Chelsea over the past couple of years.
The 28-year-old has allegedly been tracked by Hammers boss David Moyes since the summer of 2021.
Chelsea signed the powerful central midfielder from Monaco in the summer of 2017 for around £40 million.
The Frenchman has been a massive flop at Stamford Bridge, though, making just 24 Premier League appearances for the Blues.
Bakayoko has spent time on loan back at Monaco and with Napoli and twice with AC Milan over the past five years or so.
The 6ft 2in midfielder was at the London Stadium to watch West Ham beat Leeds in the last Premier League home game of the season.
He posted a picture online saying ‘My brothers Lucas Paqueta and Kurt Zouma’.
Now the £40m Moyes target who recently watched West Ham has been released by Chelsea as Bakayoko becomes a free agent.
Chelsea are starting the process of shedding players from their ridiculously bloated squad.
And despite the big investment in Bakayoko, he has now been released.
In a statement Chelsea thanked the reported West Ham target for his service.
“The midfielder joined the Blues from Monaco back in 2017 and featured frequently under Antonio Conte, clocking up 43 appearances and playing the whole of the 2018 FA Cup final win over Manchester United. He scored three goals during that campaign,” Chelsea said on the club’s official website.
“The Frenchman subsequently embarked on several loans, including back to Monaco and at AC Milan when they won Serie A.
“We thank Tiemoue for his contribution during his season at Stamford Bridge.”
New Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino clearly had no plans for the player given his vast array of options.
While Bakayoko has hardly put himself in the shop window by flopping with Chelsea, West Ham may well be tempted to take a look at him given he is available for free.
The Hammers need to bolster their central midfield ranks with Manuel Lanzini released and Declan Rice being sold.
He is already friends with members of the West Ham team.
So there could be more to the fact he attended that last home game against Leeds.
We’ll soon find out.
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