Tiemoue Bakayoko has said the opportunity to work with Antonio Conte and follow in the footsteps of Didier Drogba were the vital factors behind his summer move to Chelsea.
Bakayoko joined the Premier League champions on a five-year deal after an estimated £40 million transfer from Ligue 1 title-winners Monaco.
“When I was at Rennes and he was coaching Juve, he was following me already,” Bakayoko said.
“I wanted to work with him and I’m convinced he’ll make me improve and achieve my goals, individual and collective. If we’re talking about the coach and not the club, the choice is a logical one. He’s going to improve me tactically, technically and mentally.
“He yells at me every day in training, I have to be as precise as possible in everything I do. I know where I have signed and what the coach wants from me, I’m not worried about that. It’s only if I mess about or don’t work that I won’t play.
“I’m certain I’ll have playing time. Having said that, being in the starting XI, that’s another thing.”
“There are very good leagues elsewhere, but I wanted to play here. When I was 12, Chelsea were already following me and wanted me to join their academy,” Bakayoko said.
“It’s a special story because I like this club a lot, I’ve always followed them. Moreover, the Ivory Coast’s best striker, Didier Drogba played here.
“Playing here is a source of pride, because I’ve achieved my goals. I recently saw one of the recruiters who has been following me since I was little and he told me he was happy to finally see me here.”
“I think I did my job in Monaco where we finished champions. Some will say I left for money, but I stayed focussed on the football,” Bakayoko said.
“Chelsea is a step up from Monaco and my choice was made.”
Bakayoko, who joined Manchester City new-boys Bernardo Silva and Benjamin Mendy as the major summer departures from the principality, says that he is at peace with his decision.
“It was everything. There’s finance, the emotional aspect. It’s also about guarantees in terms of what they wanted me to do,” he explained.
“I had just finished champion, had a very good season after two nightmare years. I needed Monaco try to keep me a bit more. My status had changed after I made my France debut, but I expected them to reassure me, that they put me clearly in the project.
“I needed to talk, to know how we were going to move forward. I didn’t feel that at the end of the season. There was also my long-term injury. I didn’t get a phone call, I sorted myself out. When I saw all of that, I felt it was time to leave.”
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