Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois believes under-fire midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko can lead the club to Premier League glory next season.
Bakayoko, 23, has endured a difficult debut season in English football, failing to acclimatise to the demands of the league, while receiving widespread criticism from some sections of the Chelsea fanbase.
Despite this, teammate Courtois has leapt to the defence of the former Monaco player, insisting the Frenchman can be the catalyst in the Blues title-charge next campaign.
Bakayoko moved to the French Riviera in 2014 after signing from Rennes, and after enjoying a trailblazing Ligue 1 title win with Monaco last season, the defensive midfielder left his homeland for Chelsea in the summer for £40m.
There were high expectations in west London, but the Frenchman has so far failed to replicate his Ligue 1 form, while a first-half sending off against Watford in February bore witness to Bakayoko as the subject of ridicule from his own fans.
Despite this, the 23-year-old has started in the last three matches as Antonio Conte’s men mount a late surge for a top-four finish, and Courtois believes Bakayoko can take this new lease of life into next season.
Talking to Standard Sport, the Belgian said: “It is not easy to settle into a new club, especially one like Chelsea. If results go your way it’s fantastic, everybody will say it’s a great signing. Yet when things go wrong and you’re a big signing, you will get criticism.
“People forget that he is still a young guy. Maybe his form dropped a bit, but you can see in the last few games he’s been very good again.
“He was very strong against Liverpool in midfield and we can be happy about that. His partnership with N’Golo Kante can be a formidable one in midfield next season.
“Physically they are very strong. It will be really hard for teams to win that midfield battle against us.
“N’Golo just runs and runs and runs. He must be carrying a really big motor inside himself to keep on doing that week after week. He never gets rest and is the guy that gives us balance in this team.”
Bakayoko was absent during Chelsea’s pre-season preparations as he arrived at Stamford Bridge having not fully recovered from a knee injury, and Courtois insists the abnormality of the midfielder’s situation has made it more difficult for him to adjust to the Premier League.
He continued: “That’s very significant, especially as the manager needed him straight away.
“He didn’t have that physical preparation or take part in the tactical training sessions that Antonio likes. I think that’s why it has not been easy for him.
“When a new signing arrives into the team we always try to help them settle in as quickly as possible. But it’s also about understanding the system the manager wants to play.
“A midfielder has to do specific things that Antonio wants, things that he’s maybe not used to. But if you understand that all this is the case and see what Tiemoue has done, you can see he is a very good player.”
The Blues have been in emphatic form of late, and a win over Huddersfield on Wednesday will take them level on points with Liverpool going into the final match on Sunday.
Chelsea will travel to Newcastle on the final game of the season, while Liverpool host Brighton in what could be a very dramatic finale.
