First pictures emerge of Tiemoue Bakayoko at Chelsea’s training ground in Cobham talking to Antonio Conte

CHELSEA look a step closer to signing Tiemoue Bakayoko after pictures emerged of the Frenchman talking with Antonio Conte at the club's training ground.

The Monaco midfielder has been one of Conte's primary targets this summer - but the transfer has been held up by the two clubs haggling over his price.

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Bakayoko has also had keyhole surgery on a knee injury suffered at the end of last season as Monaco marched to the Ligue 1 title.

And the deal appears to be almost over the line after the 22-year-old was also pictured having dinner with Blues stars Willian and David Luiz.

But the star appeared to suggest the deal was OFF in another cryptic social media post, suggesting there have been issues over his medical.

He posted emojis of a plane, location pins and a Monaco flag on Twitter.

The Frenchman appears to be enjoying causing confusion over the transfer, but it has simply been a complicated one.

But Chelsea will have wanted to get the deal over the line after missing out on Romelu Lukaku, who signed for Manchester United for £75million, instead of heading back to Stamford Bridge.

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Tiemoue Bakayoko factfile

• Bakayoko, 22, was born in Paris on August 17 1994.
• He started played  for Parisien side Paris 15eme O when he was just five
• Four years later, aged nine, he moved to another local team CA Paris Charenton and then on the Montrogue FC 92.
• He moved to Rennes in 2008 to join their academy when he was just 13.
• Bakayoko made 24 appearances for Rennes in midfield before being sold to Monaco in 2014 for £7million.
• He has played 92 games for Monaco in three seasons giving him 120 first-team appearances in total.
• Bakayoko earned his first France cap in March after coming on for Adrien Rabiot during a 2-0 defeat to Spain.
• He was the man who knocked Manchester City out of the Champions League with his header making it 6-6 on aggregate.
• He has been described as a less flashy, more defensive version of Paul Pogba.

Elsewhere Chelsea are reported to have tabled an £88million bid for Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain, as well as showing interest in £65m Borussia Dortmund forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The West London club travel on their pre-season tour of the Far East this weekend, with games against Arsenal on July 22, Bayern Munich on July 25 and Inter Milan on July 29.

Keep up-to-date with all the latest transfer news and gossip in our live blog