Chelsea and AC Milan are getting closer to agreeing a deal for Christian Pulisic to move to the San Siro, football.london understands.
Milan made an offer of around £19 million for the 24-year-old on Wednesday after seeing a bid of £12m turned down recently. Pulisic, who has less than 12 months remaining on his contract with Chelsea, is eager to leave the club this summer after four years of playing his football in west London.
The Blues, too, are open to selling the American winger, who has plenty of interest in his services. Lyon made a bid way over £20m to try and land his signature last week but the French club cannot offer Pulisic Champions League football next season - something the winger is demanding when making a decision over his next destination.
football.london understands Pulisic has already agreed personal terms with Milan over a move to the San Siro and there is a growing confidence from the Italian club that a deal can be completed for the USA captain. Chelsea and Milan have a strong relationship after recent dealings including Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Olivier Giroud and Fikayo Tomori.
Pulisic could be the next in a line of players to switch Stamford Bridge for the San Siro. The former Borussia Dortmund wide man played just 813 minutes in all competitions for the Blues during the 2022/23 campaign – and only nine of his 25 games were from the start.
Chelsea have had a very busy start to the summer transfer window that has been officially open for just over three weeks. The Blues have brought in two - what we would call - 'first-team signings' in Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson. The rest of the incomings are very young players that the club believe they can develop into world-class talent in the future.
READ MORE: Chelsea news and transfers LIVE: All of the latest updates coming out of Stamford Bridge
Meanwhile, the Blues have been largely focusing on offloading players to provide newly-appointed head coach Mauricio Pochettino with an appropriately sized squad for the 2023/24 season. Chelsea have gotten rid of Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy, Loftus-Cheek and N'Golo Kante - and they have received over £200m for said player sales.
Cesar Azpilicueta, like Pulisic, is also expected to leave Chelsea. The Spanish defender, who has been at Stamford Bridge for over a decade, is set to undergo a medical in the next hours with Atletico Madrid ahead of a permanent move back to his homeland.
Chelsea are also looking to offload Hakim Ziyech as soon as possible. The Moroccan winger came close to joining Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr recently but problems that surfaced following his medical means the move has all but collapsed. Ziyech is desperate to leave the Blues after an unsuccessful three years in west London, while the club are more than happy to see him move on for the right sum of money.
