Chelsea flop Bakayoko to replace Van de Beek after major transfer decision

Robin Bairner

31 Aug 2023 14:05 BST
3 min read

Former Chelsea player Tiemoue Bakayoko — © ProShots

Donny van de Beek is finally closing in on his move away from Manchester United – only the Dutchman’s destination is not clear yet.

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What is apparent, is that Van de Beek will be leaving Old Trafford on a loan deal, with Galatasaray having moved into pole position for the former Ajax star.

The Athletic reports that the 26-year-old is closing in on a move to Turkey after Galatasaray qualified for the Champions League group stages on Wednesday thanks to victory over Molde.

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Man Utd will have no problems replacing a player who was not in Erik ten Hag’s thinking – Sofyan Amrabat could yet arrive from Fiorentina on loan – but for one of the clubs chasing the Netherlands star, missing out on him is a greater blow.

Ligue 1 side Lorient were hopeful of landing Van de Beek and even had an agreement in place with Man Utd over a loan deal, according to reports in France from Wednesday. The deal, though, was not to Donny’s liking and he turned down the opportunity to move to France.

With the Man Utd midfielder now a distant hope, Lorient have turned to another big-money Premier League flop in the form of Chelsea’s Tiemoue Bakayoko.

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Lorient switch focus from Van de Beek to Bakayoko

L’Equipe reports that Lorient are on course to sign Bakayoko, who joined the Blues for €40m from Monaco in 2017, on a two-year contract. He is presently a free agent after leaving Stamford Bridge following the expiration of his contract in the summer.

An agreement is “very close” to coming to fruition, with the deal only possible because Van de Beek rejected the opportunity to move to Brittany.

Lorient, meanwhile, signed former Manchester City left-back Benjamin Mendy on a free transfer earlier this summer, with the France international having yet to debut as he builds his fitness after months out of the game following a court case in which he was found innocent.