Premier League 2017/18: 10 players who have disappointed this season

#1 Tiemoue Bakayako: Chelsea

Bakayoko has been unable to replace Matic

Chelsea made a host of mistakes that have led to their inconsistent outings this season. One of those mistakes has to be Nemanja Matic’s sale to Manchester United.

The Serbian was allowed to leave as the Blues looked to replace him with a much younger prospect in Tiemoue Bakayako. The midfielder had an excellent season with AS Monaco last time around, and Chelsea looked to build the midfield around him and N'Golo Kante.

Essentially seen as a box-to-box player, he has been downright shambolic for major portions of the season. Bakayako fails to make the most of his runs to the opposition box due to his poor finishing technique.

He has also been unable to put in the easiest of chances and hence disappoints in the attacking aspect of the game. When asked to sit back and defend, Bakayako loses his concentration regularly to let the opposition’s attacking moves go past him.

He then makes some horrible tackles to break the play and hence it can be seen that Bakayako has not done any of his assigned duties properly. Asking anyone to replace Matic is a bad decision. Asking Bakayako to do so is even worse.

There is an apparent lack of clarity over his best playing position in the team. With Kante already in the side, Bakayako should be given the license to roam ahead and orchestrate the play from the centre.

He has scored just twice and assisted twice in 25 matches in the Premier League. Until Conte finds a proper position for him, Bakayako will only flatter to deceive.