Sassuolo signed the French midfielder permanently from Marseille in February for around €10 million, and his early performances in Serie A have already put him on the radar of two of Italy's biggest clubs.
Juventus have followed him for some time, helped by sporting director Giovanni Carnevali's familiarity with the player from his own time at Sassuolo, but AS Roma have now entered the picture too.
According to Manà Manà Sport, sporting director Tony D'Amico has added the 18-year-old to his list of targets, seeing him as a possible long-term successor to Manu Koné in Roma's midfield, particularly after Chelsea's approach for the France international over the summer.
Sassuolo, though, have no intention of selling in January. The club see Bakola as a player worth building around and want to protect his development for a few more months rather than cut it short.
A move next summer is considered far more realistic, by which point further game time should have driven his value up from its current level.
For now, Juventus and Roma are simply watching a young player they regard as one of the most promising in Italian football, positioning themselves for whenever Sassuolo do eventually decide to sell.