3 tough choices talent-rich Monaco must make ahead of decisive summer

Few clubs in Europe's top leagues face a summer as crucial as Monaco's.

Caught in a tug-of-war between making profits and maintaining continuity, Monaco is the poster boy of a club whose squad is blessed with in-demand talents, while the principality side will be desperate to build on a stellar campaign.

Now booted from Europe's top-tier tournament after Juventus saw out a semi-final tie Tuesday in Italy, the Monegasques will look forward to welcoming Lille to the Stade Louis II on Sunday in hopes of taking one step closer to a first Ligue 1 title since 1999-2000.

Related: Dani Alves shines again as Juventus eases into Champions League final

Like water that has become rife with impurities through stagnation, football clubs who fail to make changes risk becoming hubs for all things sluggish and stationary.

With a slew of young talents marking a budding movement that vice-president Vasim Vasilyev describes as "what we’ve decided to do," the pipeline is flowing beyond the limitations of the principality levees, and that's likely to force the club's hands this summer:

Related - Summer shopping: Assessing the transfer value of Monaco's studs

Here's a look at three first-team regulars Monaco can afford to turn a profit on with viable options lying in reserve:

Tiemoue Bakayoko

Enjoying a breakthrough campaign as part of a two-man deep-lying midfield tandem with the versatile Fabinho, Monaco might be wise to sell 22-year-old France international Tiemoue Bakayoko while keeping his Brazilian counterpart.

That's not to say that Bakayoko isn't a blossoming talent - on the contrary - he's a star in the making, but if Monaco is going to make a few dollars this summer while maintaining title ambitions, keeping hold of the versatile Fabinho makes more sense.

Still growing as a player and capable of grabbing a match by the scruff of its neck with dominant box-to-box displays, Bakayoko's dire performance in the first leg against Juventus highlighted that there is still much to learn for the Paris-born stud. The faux-blonde-topped midfielder's effort on Gonzalo Higuain's opener a week ago was particularly poor:

Related - Buyers beware: Bakayoko's stock plummets in Juventus display

Among Bakayoko's suitors are Premier League giants Manchester United and Chelsea, with the latter reportedly preparing a €35-million bid for the player on whom Monaco spent €8 million to pry from Rennes two summers ago. A N'Golo Kante-Tiemoue Bakayoko midfield pairing is a scary prospect.

An exit for Bakayoko would mean more minutes for Joao Moutinho alongside Fabinho, and a likely loan return for Youssef Ait Bennasser, who appears capable of dropping deeper than he did this season with Nancy.

Thomas Lemar

Condolences to Caen, which sold Kante and Thomas Lemar for a combined €13 million in summer 2015, and credit to Vasilyev for a shrewd purchase, because Monaco is about to make a massive profit on the 21-year-old Guadeloupe-born winger.

Equal parts pace and trickiness, Lemar has paired 14 goals with 11 assists in all competitions this season, and his performances in both legs of a Champions League double over Tottenham raised his stock on non-French soil.

That said, like any youngster, Lemar is capable of disappearing in matches and losing possession, and with a slew of left-sided players, Monaco could entertain offers for the player who has trailed off in the second half. With Barcelona reportedly sniffing around in preparation of tabling a €26-million bid, the principality side could turn a staggering profit while continuing its cultivation of youth.

With Leonardo Jardim showing a penchant at both Sporting (Rui Patricio, William Carvalho, Adrien Silva, etc.) and Monaco for promoting young players, left-footed 17-year-old Belgian stud Adrien Bongiovanni could make the jump to first-team football, while Boschilia returns from injury and Corentin Jean presumably returns from his loan at Toulouse.

Djibril Sidibe

If a pacey defender who doesn't really defend all that well but looks stellar going forward is your thing, Djibril Sidibe is your guy.

Capable of playing either at left- or right-back, Sidibe rightly rejected several high-profile advances to join the principality lot from Lille a summer ago for €15 million, a decision that proved brilliant for the player and profitable for Monaco.

For a glimpse at the perils of Sidibe's attack-first mentality, look no further than the first leg against Juventus. The Troyes academy product started on the left for the injured Benjamin Mendy, and Sidibe was a shadow of his Les Bleus mate, caught out of possession on both of Higuain's goals. The first was a common error tethered to the malaise of youth, but the second, well, see if you can play Where's Waldo with the seven-time-capped international:

A year on, and Monaco is likely to make a profit on Sidibe's sale, with 21-year-old traditional right-back Almamy Toure waiting in the wings on the heels of 27 appearances in all competitions this year for Leonardo Jardim's young charges.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)