Graeme Souness: What impressed me about Chelsea signing
The Liverpool legend was impressed with Tiemoue Bakayoko's Chelsea debut in a 2-1 win against Tottenham
Graeme Souness has backed Tiemoue Bakayoko to be a success at Chelsea.
The French midfielder made his first Premier League appearance at Wembley on Sunday as Antonio Conte turned to the unfit summer signing for the clash against Tottenham Hotspur.
Bakayoko moved to the defending champions in a £40m deal from Ligue 1 holders AS Monaco last month to improve Conte’s options in midfield ahead of the 2017-18 season.
However, Chelsea made the surprising decision to sell Nemanja Matic to their direct title rivals Manchester United in a £40m deal to leave Conte short in midfield.
Indeed, Cesc Fabregas’ suspension following his red card in a 3-2 loss to Burnley in their Premier League opener left Conte with little choice but to rush Bakayoko into the team.
But the 23-year-old acquitted himself well as Marcos Alonso scored either side of half-time to secure a 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley.
Former Liverpool and Spurs midfielder Souness admitted that he was impressed with Bakayoko’s debut performance against the Spurs.
“We didn’t see him on the ball too much,” Souness told Sky Sports.
“He wasn’t getting on the ball and making clever passes. He made a couple of bursting runs into the box.
“What he showed was that at 23, he understands the game. He was disciplined, he was filling area and he was making challenges.
“We saw a player who understands the midfield role.”
Chelsea won the Premier League title in Conte’s first season in charge after finishing seven points clear of second-placed Tottenham.
The Blues have signed Willy Caballero, Antonio Rudiger and Alvaro Morata in the summer so far.
