Gennaro Gattuso is trying to recreate his old Milan squad at Valencia, as after Samu Castillejo, he now wants another reunion with Tiemoue Bakayoko.
The new coach at the Mestalla is rebuilding the team in his own image and that means reuniting with players he has worked with before.
Castillejo completed his transfer for a minimal fee this week and could soon be followed by Bakayoko, according to Calciomercato.com.
It would be the third time that Gattuso has requested Bakayoko in his squad, after Milan in 2018-19 and then Napoli in 2020-21.
Both times, he was allowed to leave Chelsea on loan with an option to buy, and in both occasions the club refused to make the move permanent, also parting company with Gattuso.
Chelsea paid €40m to sign Bakayoko from AS Monaco in 2017, but he has barely played for the Blues, instead going out on a series of disappointing loan spells at Milan, Monaco, Napoli and most recently back to Milan again.
His contract runs to June 2024 and the Rossoneri have an obligation to buy for €17m if Bakayoko plays at least 15 games for 45 minutes in the 2022-23 season.
However, Milan have no intention of doing that and want to interrupt the two-year loan early.