Chelsea set to hand forgotten stars Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tiemoue Bakayoko lifeline to fight for future in pre-season
CHELSEA are reportedly willing to give forgotten stars Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tiemoue Bakayoko another chance to shine at Stamford Bridge next season.
The duo could get the opportunity to return to West London if Scottish prodigy Billy Gilmour completes his proposed loan move to either Wolves or Norwich City, according to The Guardian.
They claim that if the 20-year-old prodigy seals a switch away from the Bridge the Blues will need cover to replace him.
And rather than source new talent, The Guardian allege that Blues boss Thomas Tuchel wants to assess Loftus-Cheek and Bakayoko in pre-season training.
If happy with the pair, Tuchel may reinstate them to his squad for the new Premier League season.
Both stars have spent time on loan away from the Champions League winners over the past few seasons.
Loftus-Cheek was at Fulham last term where he endured a difficult campaign, scoring just once as the Whites were relegated.
The 25-year-old midfielder has recently been liked with a move to Italy to jump-start his career.
Ex-Blues boss Maurizio Sarri was said to be interested in bringing him to Lazio.
And this week it was rumoured that Chelsea wanted to add him to a five-player package swap for Inter Milan star Achraf Hakimi.
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Bakayoko has hardly played for the Blues since joining for £40million from Monaco in 2017.
The Frenchman returned to his former club on loan and also with AC Milan.
He seemed to have found his feet at Napoli last season where his brother and agent Abdoulaye claims he wants to remain in the near future.
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But as the Serie A side haven’t put in a formal bid for Bakayoko, it had been reported that Atletico Madrid planned to swoop in for the box-to-box midfielder.
SunSport revealed that the Blues were reportedly willing to do business with Atletico and take a £25m loss on Bakayoko.
The report suggests that the Spanish champions were going to offer £15.3m for the 26-year-old which the West London outfit would’ve pocketed.