Lampard to let Tiemoue Bakayoko and Danny Drinkwater leave Chelsea

Chelsea midfielders Danny Drinkwater and Tiemoue Bakayoko are set to leave the club following Frank Lampard’s assessment of their pre-season tour to Japan.

Danny Drinkwater and Tiemoue Bakayoko are free to leave Chelsea this summer
New boss Frank Lampard assessed his player while on the pre-season tour to Japan
Chelsea are unable to sign players but Lampard needs to trim his squad down

Lampard, who can’t sign players because of a transfer ban, wanted to look at his existing squad in the Far East before deciding on their futures but now regards the £75million pair as surplus to requirements.

Drinkwater, a former Premier League champion with Leicester City, has played only 23 times for Chelsea following his £35million move in 2017. His last appearance came against Manchester City in the Community Shield last August.

Bakayoko, 24, joined from Monaco the same summer as Drinkwater but was loaned out to AC Milan last season after struggling in the Premier League.

With Lampard restricted to 17 overseas players in Chelsea’s Premier League squad, he has decided that Bakayoko can be sacrificed with Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Ross Barkley and N’Golo Kante better options in midfield.

Everton could move for the £40million Frenchman as a replacement for Idrissa Gueye. Gueye, who was given time off to visit family in Senegal following the African Cup of Nations, is expected to seal a move to PSG once he returns to Europe.