Tiemoue Bakayoko will need to raise his game at Chelsea to keep Danny Drinkwater from taking his place on a more regular basis.

Both players joined in the summer and as yet, Bakayoko has not made enough of an impact in games.

When you sign for Chelsea, you have to understand that you’re never the only player for a position. There is always someone else knocking on the door.

The pressure should be coming from within. Chelsea paid Monaco £40million for him - and that brings expectation. He has to live up to that on the pitch.

Bakayoko has to work hard in training and also when he plays. He has quality, we saw that in the Champions League last season. He was fantastic in Monaco’s run to the semi-finals and that’s what everyone is waiting for at Chelsea.

At the highest level, you have to always be on the edge. In some games, he just hasn’t been there. You have to train on the edge to convert that on to the pitch. Obviously coming from the French league, there is a hurdle to overcome in terms of adapting to the pace of the English game. It’s the quickest league in the world and, at times, it looks like he has found that difficult to deal with. That is understandable.

There is also talk that he is still feeling the effects of the knee injury for which he had surgery in the summer. Things like that can affect you. He may still be troubled by it. That would be unfortunate because no one sees you toiling with it from the outside.

With Drinkwater also missing the start of the season, Bakayoko was brought into the side quickly after missing pre-season. Perhaps the positive of Drinkwater, who I was impressed with on Saturday, being available for selection now is that coach Antonio Conte will rotate more, allowing Bakayoko to get himself right.

Still, at the moment I am looking at Bakayoko and I’m not sure what kind of midfield player he is.

I initially thought he could be compared to Yaya Toure, however I don’t see that so much now. The way Chelsea play means he has to be disciplined in midfield, as Conte wants the wing-backs high up the pitch.

Then the attacking players are given a bit of freedom, so he is one of two defensive midfielders given real responsibility to win tackles, keep things tight and move the ball quickly. N’Golo Kante does it out of instinct, but Bakayoko is finding it harder.

One of his best games was against Atletico, who they face again tonight, in the Champions League back in September. He showed discipline and presence. His positional sense, power and size were very impressive. He is good on the ball in that mood - he can play some very smart one and two-touch stuff - but Chelsea need more from him.

Bakayoko should get that chance this evening because I expect Conte to make a few changes but still play with three in midfield.

Chelsea are looking more like their old selves of late. There is a stability in the team. They missed Kante when he was out injured, but they look settled now he’s back, while Eden Hazard is in top form. Andreas Christensen has slotted in very comfortably at centre-back and things are looking good.

But this is a big month for them, with a lot of games.

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Apart from David Luiz, Conte has a full squad to choose from - and you do need that. They’re fighting on four fronts and they have found it more difficult than last season. You need everybody fit, especially over the Christmas period.

If they can finish the Champions League well tonight, they can get their heads down and amass League points. Their win over Atletico in September was one of the best away performances I have seen from an English team for a few years.

I know it was only a group game, but everything about that match was spot on in terms of how Chelsea want to play.

It will be different at home, but with Hazard playing up front with Alvaro Morata, you can trust those two to create things.

It gives the central defence of any team a problem when you have players like that up against you.



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