AC Milan's Tiemoue Bakayoko has been criticised in the media for his performance against Olympiacos

The Chelsea midfielder was sent on a season-long loan to Italy by his parent club following a poor opening campaign in west London. But the Frenchman has failed to win praise since his move to the San Siro, with his display against Olympiacos on Thursday coming under fire despite Milan winning the match 3-1. Il Corriere Dello Sport rated Bakayoko 5.5/10 - which offered the best rating among the Italian media - and said “Unable to shine without a regista (deep-lying playmaker) playing close to him. He leaves the impression that the ball is burning when he has it.” Tuttosport marked the Chelsea loanee 5/10 and labelled him “Confused and messy” while La Gazzetta dello Sport comments his performance claiming that Bakayoko “is a disaster”.

“Slow and unprecise, one of his mistakes allows Olympiakos to score the opener”, said the Italian paper having rated the Chelsea loanee 4.5/10. Chelsea paid Monaco £40 million for the services of Bakayoko in July 2017 and although he made 43 appearances in all competitions he was still heavily criticised by pundits and supporters. Bakayoko moved to the Italian capital in August for a loan fee of £5 million with the option to make the move permanent for £35 million. The 24-year-old has made six appearances to date for the Rossoneri with Gennaro Gattuso’s team winning just two of those. His only appearances in Serie A have come from the substitutes bench.

Tiemoue Bakayoko failed to impress at Chelsea last season

The midfielder’s loan move to Milan was recently criticised by new Liverpool addition Fabinho, who lined up in midfield alongside Bakayoko at Monaco. The Brazilian has endured a similarly difficult start to life at his new club, making just one start since his move to Anfield in the summer. "I don’t think he struggled that much," the Brazil international told Yahoo last month. "I watched a few games and he seemed always good to me.

Fabinho has thrown his support behind Tiemoue Bakayoko