The long and winding, very bizarre Tiemoue Bakayoko summer transfer saga is now officially complete. Chelsea FC posted a press release featuring the now former Monaco midfielder proudly sporting his new blue shirt.
Thus, we can now say that all of his strange behavior on social media yesterday, a lot of which seemed to imply that the deal was off, and he was returning to Monaco, was just meaningless trolling.
It is odd that Bakayoko behaved the way he did on his social media platforms, but now we know that all of it was just for the purpose of attention-seeking, and not to keep his followers informed of the latest developments surrounding his transfer.
“I am very happy to be here and to join this great team. I have grown up watching Chelsea. Signing was the natural thing for me because it is a club I loved very much in my childhood,” reads a statement attributed to Bakayoko on the Chelsea FC website.
“I am now looking forward to evolving under this fantastic coach and alongside so many great teammates.”
Added Chelsea FC Technical Director Michael Emenalo: ‘Tiemoue was outstanding as Monaco emerged as one of Europe’s best sides last season and we are delighted to welcome him to Chelsea.”
‘Despite his young age he already has plenty of experience as a French title winner and having competed in the latter stages of the Champions League, we believe he will add considerable quality to our squad.’
The contract is reportedly for five years with a transfer fee of £40m, making the Frenchman the most expensive midfielder in Chelsea history and the second priciest player overall. Tops is the £50m Stamford Bridge shelled out to acquire Fernando Torres from Liverpool in January of 2011.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV.
Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Sound Cloud, LinkedIn and YouTube.