Tiemoue Bakayoko Thread

mleite said:

Very sorry indeed to see that we are not redeeming Baka. One of our best players last season & I think if we had been willing to pay the fee he would have stayed with us.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvIGG44ATC0/?igshid=7il0hf3l1zhs

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brk said:

Maybe, just maybe, it's him that doesn't want to stay at Milan?

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mleite said:

https://twitter.com/as_monaco/status/1203741834490593280?s=21

Baka!

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mleite said:

https://twitter.com/as_monaco/status/1203741834490593280?s=21

Baka!

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Starting with the price tag and the salary of the player. Reportedly Bakayoko would earn something at the high end of our wage structure but he have to again considering some reports he is willing to accept a huge pay cut which is crucial for Milan. The transfer fees which Milan and Chelsea seem to be discussing about is around 20-25 million EUROS. What does Bakayoko bring into the table?!

The first and most obvious aspect that Bakayoko would bring at Milan would be more physicality and more CMs in our midfield. Bakayoko stands at 189 cm(6.2 feet). His stature helps him a lot having the advantage or fighting on equal terms with every attacking threat in Serie A. On top of him being a great defensive asset in the context of his posture he also would be an offensive asset in these regard considering that he would be dangerous in set pieces and corners. Considering that our strongest asset in this regard is Krunic whom is linked with Torino for the time being, the next name is Kessie whom averages 1.2 areal duels x 90 with a 42% win rate this season, while the previous season he averaged 2.3 areal duels with an improved 52% win rate. But both are dwarfed in comparison Bakayoko whom last season at Milan averaged 4 areal duels with a 63% win rate in Serie A. For context in the season we finished the only midfielder who had a good sample to look up that had a higher win rate in this regard then Bakayoko was SMS who won 75% of his areal duels.

The arrival of a screening midfielder. Kessie and Benaccer have been great at sharing their defensive duties in the second part of the season and incredible in the post lock down period while Milan conceded 12 goals in 12 games playing against the likes of Lazio, Roma, Atalanta, Napoli and Juventus. BUT the arrival of a screening DM whom is more conservative in going forward differently from the likes of Kessie and Benaccer would bring a different domain to Milans game which is highly needed. Playing with 2 midfielders who give a balance of offense and defense, with Benaccer the more defensive oriented and creative of the 2 and Kessie the one whom brings the physicality, energy both defensively and offensively in our midfield 2. This aspect is supported via stats with Kessie participating in 3.3 defensive actions(tackles, interceptions and clearances) while Benaccer participates in 5.7. So the main question is ?would Bakayoko only be a vice Benaccer who brings only more physicality and areal solidity in the table? the obvious answer is NO, Benaccer differently from Bakayoko likes to get out of the first pressing in build up and progress the ball forward while also staying in a more advanced position cause he has an eye for change of play or vertical pass in a dangerous area. Bakayoko on the other hand plays differently, he also has the ability to brake the press differently from Benaccers flair like dribbling with his physicality and more times then not discharges a simple vertical pass to one of his companions, but also he is decent enough to play a difficult long pass while also having the physicality and the pace to progress the ball into the final 3d while counterattacking but his final third decision making is lacking like we have seen in a decent sample of scenarios last season. Also this aspects can be given enough context with stats while compering his output to that of Benaccer but ALWAYS having in mind the difference in play style which i have emphasized above. I will also differentiate Bakayokos stats of the entirety of his season at Milan and also his second part of the season when he found his footing for as much of the stats i could find.

TACKLES: Bakayoko{ all season: 3.4 with 68% accuracy, second part of the season: 3.5 with 70% accuracy} Benaccer{3.6 with 61% accuracy}

INTERCEPTIONS : Bakayoko{all season 1.6, second part of the season 1.9} Benaccer{ 1.7 }

FOULS(very important stats whom gives us a lot of perspective in Benaccers play style later): Bakayoko{ 1.6 fouls conceding 3 yellows and a double yellow so 5 in total} Benaccer{ 14 yellows}

CLEARANCES: Bakayoko{1.4} Benaccer{ 0.4}

DRIBBLES: Bakayoko{ 2.7 with 74% accuracy all season and 3.2 with 66% accuracy in the second half of the season} Benaccer{3.0 with 80% accuracy}

LONG PASSING: Bakayoko{ 2 x match with 62% accuracy} Benaccer{ 5 x match with 68% accuracy}.

The difference between the way Benaccer plays and Bakayoko plays is that Benaccer will go forward and in cases of counterattack he will be tracking back, this is the main reason why Benaccer has a higher yellow card count. Tracking back will put midfielders in a position to make rash decisions in a tight time span. While Bakayoko would be in a position already to make a more mature and calculated decision cause he doesn?t move that up in the pitch when the team attacks and also in limited scenarios he is the one who is progressing the ball when counterattacking.

3) I also want to touch a little bit on the 2 of the last stats and expand on those to give context which is much needed.

Bakayokos dribbling differs to much from Benaccers. Bakayoko in the 18-19 season especially in the second part of the season was charged with the duty of getting the ball from the goalkeeper to the advanced midfield. Thus he used his body and his good dribbling skills to get out of high pressure. When you can?t distinguish if Benaccer made a dribbling in an advanced part of the field or in build up, we are more certain that Bakayoko dribblings were in build up 9 times out of 10. This the stat of 3.2 dribbles x match with a 2 out 3 accuracy is good but not great we should also add that it was a very rideable strategy that the opponent knew about cause the only ways that the team would build under pressure would be Bakayoko dribbling the first pressure and releasing a short pass into a more free space or a long ball between the lines from our CBs. Both scenarios which are countered by making the midfield more crowded with players. Which makes Bakayokos dribbling stat in build up the more impressive.

Clearances, usually somebody clears the ball if he is insecure, doesn?t have viable options or is in a pressured scenario and takes the safest route. Thus it can be considered both a negative or positive stat depending on the context. Milan last season played the majority of the matches playing a defensive low block and this can be one factor of Bakayokos high clearances count.

Big teams usually have 3 or 4 depending on the formation starting midfielders and in some scenarios even more with different characteristics whom can be played vs different opponents. Considering that a team who plays in Europa league + Championship and has also the Italian cup in the worst case scenario would top 4200 minutes of game time in a season for a player who would play every single match from start to finish. If we take an average and say a team goes past the 1/16 of UEL, to the semis of Italian Cup and all 38 matches of the season while averaging 94 minutes x match would make a total of around 4700 minutes per player, so 9400 minutes for the midfield pairing. Thus that game time divided by 3 starters who could rotate between each other would minus also some minute given to some young player or substitute if it isn?t between them self would average something around 2800-2900 minutes in a season, so it makes more then a lot of sense to have 3 starters. Thus let?s look at both the pairings of Kessie-Bakayoko and Bakayoko-Benaccer and analyze what would they bring into the table.

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BAKAYOKO- BENACCER: This is a very simple synthesis considering that Benaccer can easily play a more advanced role in the midfield and being discharged somewhat of his defensive duties, with our team not losing defensive solidity on the other hand i would argue that a more conservative midfield of Benaccer and Bakayoko would solidify more the defensive our defensive aspect but also we would lose on the dynamism that Kessie brings into the table. So when and where would it make sense to play a hypothetical midfield 2 of Bakayoko and Benaccer. The most obvious scenario would be vs a team who sits back, defends and plays a very bitter counterattack. Imagine the likes of Udinese or Parma. In a scenario like that a midfielder like Benaccer whom would be of much use more advanced to create chances, open up play in a faster pace would be important like bread offensively while a screening midfielder with a physicality to be dominant in the air and in the ground is much needed to brake those counters. An other scenario would be an open play UEL game vs a team who plays open football but puts an emphasis on long direct balls like Frankfurt played in the 18-19 season in this scenario also a physical presence like Bakayoko is much much needed.

KESSIE-BAKAYOKO: The difference between last season and this season is that under Gattuso this pairing wouldn?t work. But in the upcoming season it would and very well and there is a very good reference why. The reference is the last Atalanta game where Kessie player alongside Biglia with Laxalt as a fullback. Milan have adapted in such a way where Kessie was the main player to get the first or second ball even under pressure and make a simple pas in advance to Hakan whom now can drop low while in the 18-19 season he couldn?t cause it would let a huge gap in the left wing, to Theo who is always available to get a pass and drive forward, Rebic can drop more centrally also does Alexis and Castillejo or even Ibra who can drop in the midfield to collect the pass and build from, a simple long ball to Ibra is always a very reliable solution. Also when Conti played he also was an other solution to send the ball to and develop in the spaces whom were created and send the ball forward and not stagnant it back and fourth. In the 18-19 season Milan didn?t move nearly as much without the ball thus being more telegraphed, the player who was in charge of sending the ball forward was only Paqueta in the second part of the season while at the start was Bonaventura thus in the mid period before Paqueta arrived and Bonaventura got injured Milan suffered a lot. So in build up a midfield duo of Bakayoko and Kessie now days can work but in what scenario it would be beneficial... One obvious reason is to counter a physical heavy midfield from an other opposition. Along side the lines of the first one, if Pioli wants to dominate the midfield from a physical aspect of the game. An other would be when you want more players in the opposition area and Kessie excels at that while not sacrificing defensive solidity.

From a human aspect what does Bakayoko bring into the table. Bakayoko is a 26 year old who already has Serie A experience while understanding in how to adapt to the league. On top of that we have seen that he has good relationships with Milan players already and has the desire to play at Milan which is very important at the moment. On top of that the most important aspect is that Bakayoko has excelled in important matches, making man of the match performances in the 2 losses vs Inter and Juventus in the second part of the 18-19 season while scoring in one of them and assisting in the other. Also putting out important performances vs the likes of Roma, Atalanta and also Lazio again in the second part of the season. We have to also mention the problematic that he had with Gattuso and Acerbi, it also is this part of the token.

CONCLUSION: Bakayoko would be an important and impactful signing in the field and of the field both especially if he improved his behavior and what happened in the 2 mentioned above scenarios. The particular situation of him at Chelsea and the desire of the guy to come at Milan gives us the leverage to sign a player whom in other circumstances would cost us much more then between 20-25 mil.

Thank you to the people who reached to the end, hope you liked the summery

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helloAgain said:

a bit long but interesting post about baka i found on reddit.

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Goodfella said:

K & B aren't injury-prone(thankfully).

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