Nottingham Forest are reportedly interested in signing Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko.

What's the news?

According to a recent report from Calciomercato, the Midlands club - alongside Premier League rivals Newcastle United - are eyeing up a potential swoop for the French midfielder, with AC Milan seeking to terminate the second year of his current loan deal from the Blues.

Chelsea signed the 28-year-old from AS Monaco in the summer of 2017 in a deal worth a reported £40m.

Since then, the midfielder has made just 43 appearances for the west London club and spent the majority of his time away from the Blues on loan with the likes of Napoli, Milan and a temporary return to Monaco.

A big mistake from Cooper

His second loan spell with Milan last season saw the former Monaco midfielder make just 14 Serie A appearances for the current Italian champions.

In those outings, Bakayoko had only four shots at goal (none of which were on target), along with making just 13 successful tackles, 45 successful pressures, 10 blocks, 11 interceptions and eight clearances, which is lower that the majority of players at the club (as per FBref).

The midfielder's performances earned him a disappointing overall season rating of 6.3/10, making him the lowest-rated player to start more than two league games for the Rossoneri according to WhoScored.

Not only has he been unable to convince his parent club that he has what it takes to be a useful player for them, he has also failed to impress while out on loan.

Despite previously being labelled a "monster" for the west London club by Jake Heasman, it's safe to say that taking a punt on bringing the player back to England with Forest would be a big mistake from Steve Cooper.

With all that in mind, we feel that the Midlands club should forget about potentially securing a deal for the Chelsea outcast, either on loan or permanently, as his poor 2021/22 season in Italy suggests that he may not have what it takes to be able to enjoy a resurgence in the Premier League.

If bringing in a new midfielder before the summer transfer window shuts on Thursday night is in Forest's plans, they should look elsewhere rather than taking a chance on Bakayoko.