There were real concerns about Tiemoue Bakayoko just weeks into his loan at AC Milan.

Despite being touted as one of Europe's top defensive midfielders during his time with AS Monaco, a high-profile move to Chelsea slammed the brakes on his career and drew wide-spread criticism.

Just a few games into the season and Bakayoko looked to be struggling in the Premier League, eventually prompting the decision to loan him away from Stamford Bridge this summer.AC Milan decided to roll the dice, but his first few performances in Italy didn't exactly inspire confidence with his Chelsea form following him to Serie A.It led to concern from his own manager - Gennaro Gattuso - who worryingly told the press in October: “Bakayoko needs to be helped, as he is struggling.

Bakayoko's initial Milan struggles

“The tactics haven’t been drilled into his head yet and evidently it’s my fault, we need to do more work with him in training.

“He has been here for two months and we haven’t yet been able to get him to understand the movements. It is our duty to improve him as a player, because he does have a lot of quality and we’re not finding that yet.”

At this point, there were real suspicions that Bakayoko had lost his touch after leaving Monaco and some reports even suggested Milan would cut his loan short.

Football fans discuss Bakayoko vs Lazio

What a difference a few weeks can make, though, and Bakayoko seems to have turned things around with a number of promising showings.

The Frenchman unexpectedly received plaudits against Juventus and has now passed another major test during Sunday's 1-1 away to Lazio.

Everyone from AC Milan fans, Chelsea supporters and neutrals were tweeting positively about him with all manner of comments.

The overriding point concerned Bakayoko's improvements in a midfield two, with many praising with partnership with Franck Kessie. Check out some of the tweets down below:

(You can browse more of the reaction here)

Others became convinced that AC Milan should sign him permanently on current form:

And some reckoned Bakayoko had highly-rated Manchester United target Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in his pocket:

All in all, though, football fans were in agreement that Bakayoko is producing some of his finest football again and looked very impressed against Lazio.

Of course, the performance should certainly be taken with a pinch of salt and supporters shouldn't get too carried away until the 24-year-old plays like this on a regular basis.

However, the level of opponents cannot be underestimated, this is Bakayoko bossing it against Juventus and Lazio and not some lesser, lower league adversaries.

It probably won't be enough to secure a future at Chelsea, though, and there are still concerns that Bakayoko simply isn't cut out for the Premier League.

But right now, it's just great to see Bakayoko producing the kind of performances that fans know he can deliver. 

Do you think Bakayoko will ever play for Chelsea again? Have your say in the comments section below.