Tiémoué Bakayoko

Tiemoué Bakayoko (born 17 August 1994) is a French professional footballer who plays for Chelsea and the France national team. He plays as a defensive midfielder due to his ability to break up play, but is considered to have all-round ability, as well as possessing physical power and athleticism.

After suffering a broken leg as a young player, Bakayoko joined the academy at Rennes at the age of 13. At 14, he was rejected by the Clairfontaine academy. His senior career began at Rennes where he made 24 appearances before moving to Monaco in 2014 for £7 million. In his first two seasons at the club, Bakayoko made 31 Ligue 1 appearances, but was a regular starter in the 2016-17 season, contributing to Monaco's Ligue 1 title win as well as being named in the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League squad of the season.

He made his first senior international appearance for France in March 2017 against Spain, coming on as a substitute to replace Adrien Rabiot.