Chelsea flop Bakayoko 'is struggling' - Milan boss Gattuso explains poor form

Manager Gennaro Gattuso admits that Chelsea flop Tiemoue Bakayoko is struggling to adjust to life at Milan.

The midfielder moved to San Siro on an initial loan deal in the summer, with the Rossoneri holding the option to sign the Frenchman for £40 million at the end of the season.

However, he has struggled for form in Italy, and has yet to complete 90 minutes for the club in Serie A.

And Gattuso has now claimed responsibility for his lack of adjustment, insisting that he plans to put in the hard work with Bakayoko on the training pitch.

“Bakayoko needs to be helped, as he is struggling,” Gattuso told reporters.

“The tactics haven’t been drilled into his head yet and evidently it’s my fault, we need to do more work with him in training.

“He has been here for two months and we haven’t yet been able to get him to understand the movements. It is our duty to improve him as a player, because he does have a lot of quality and we’re not finding that yet.”

Bakayoko endured a terrible season at Chelsea in 2017-18, as the club floundered to replace Nemanja Matic, who joined Manchester United.

The defensive midfielder's most inglorious moment came against Watford, as he was sent off within the first half hour in his side's thumping 4-1 defeat.

After being signed by Antonio Conte, he Frenchman made 43 appearance in all competitions for the Blues - 24 of which came from the start in the Premier League.

But he quickly became the subject of criticism from supporters for his displays though he continued to be part of Conte's plans, playing the 90 minutes as Chelsea won the FA Cup final against Manchester United.

The departure of Conte was virtually a nail in the coffin for Bakayoko, 24, as new boss Maurizio Sarri refrained from including him in his plans for the new campaign.

After omitting Bakayoko from his squad to face Huddersfield Town on the opening weekend of the season, Sarri admired his squad was "too large" and suggested players would have to leave on loan.

Opportunities in Italy have been few and far between for Bakayoko, with his only starts coming in the Europa League wins over F91 Dudelange and Olympiacos.