Is Chelsea FC new signing Tiemoue Bakayoko overrated?

Chelsea FC new boy Tiemoue Bakayoko has so far struggled to adapt to the  intensity of the Premier League despite much hype about him.

Chelsea FC signed Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco in the summer with much fanfare and hype about his arrival. The French midfielder was known for his combativeness and strength while also having an eye for a pass. But, he has struggled at Chelsea.

With N’Golo Kante in the team, Bakayoko actually looks like a good buy. He is strong, quick for his size and can tackle. But, without Kante in the side, Bakayoko has struggled to impress.

He was lackluster in Chelsea’s two previous defeats in the Premier League against Manchester City and Crystal Palace, and was absent in the 3-3 draw against Roma.

This is a player who won the Ligue 1 in France with Monaco and helped them to beat Manchester City in the Champions League while scoring a terrific goal. But after all the hype about his arrival, many fans and pundits alike are starting to question whether or not he is really an upgrade on Nemanja Matic at all.

Bakayoko has also come under some criticism from Glenn Hoddle saying that he’s not as good as Matic, who left for Manchester United in the summer to pave way for Bakayoko.

"“Bakayoko’s another one who has to come into the fray – he’s got to do more for me. He’s come over with a reputation, I’m not sure quite yet what he’s got.“He’s a big, strong player but he got knocked off the ball a few times tonight.“But can he play it? Can he get in the box? Does he hold? I’m not sure. The loss of Matic as well. Matic going to United, I’m scratching my head still. You don’t give him to one of your rivals. ‘And he’s playing superb for United and is a big miss for Chelsea.”"

However, despite looking average at times, Bakayoko has some good stats from his appearances and measures up to Matic. Additionally, the boy is only 23-years-old and has tons of potential.

Bakayoko has made 2.9 tackles per game, 1.1 interceptions, 1.7 clearances and an average rating of 7.32 in the Premier League from Whoscored.

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Offensively, he has made one assist, scored one goal and made 2.4 successful dribbles per game. However, he has also been dispossessed (lost the ball) 1.3 times per game and made 2.1 fouls.

Bakayoko gave away the foul that led to the free kick which led to the Roma goal. He has also given away other similar reckless fouls near the box in previous games. This could be due to the increased intensity of Premier League matches compared to French football and Bakayoko is still adapting.

While Matic has made 2 successful tackles per game,  1.8 interceptions, 1.8 clearances and 2 dribbles per game. But Matic has only made 1.4 fouls per game compared to Bakayoko’s 2.1.

But if you look at the stats, Bakayoko actually tops Matic in a number of key areas…most notably in tackling and dribbles per game.

However stats aren’t always very reliable on telling how a player actually plays on the field and it’s clear that Matic has a lot more defensive intelligence in terms of positioning and reading the game than Bakayoko. The Chelsea FC midfielder has often been out of position or in front of the ball when the opposition attacks and seems to lack discipline.

I also suspect that Bakayoko is still not 100% fit, or at least I hope he’s not, because I’ve often seen him just strolling around the pitch casually when he should be running to get into a defensive position. He also often looks exhausted near the end of the games.

It also takes some time to adapt to the physical intensity and speed of the Premier League as it’s much different to the French Ligue 1.  But, if you look at his stats in previous seasons at Monaco, they are actually pretty similar and a bit underwhelming.  Perhaps his performances in the Champions League have led some to over-hype his arrival at Stamford Bridge?

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Chelsea FC fans will hope that he improves over the coming weeks and recovers from his current injury which he sustained in the Roma game. As at the moment, Chelsea FC have only one fit central midfielder for the game against Watford.