Chelsea in 'final stages' of next deal as Mauricio Pochettino close to ideal squad

Chelsea are nearing a full agreement to sell Christian Pulisic to AC Milan as Mauricio Pochettino continues to oversee a large-scale exodus at Stamford Bridge this summer, according to reports. The Blues have already waved goodbye to a number of high-profile players, with the likes of Edouard Mendy, N'Golo Kante, Kai Havertz and Ruben Loftus-Cheek among those to have left the club in recent weeks.

Chelsea have raised over £187million from player exits since the end of last season and it seems as though Pulisic could be poised to bring the figure over the £200m mark by joining Milan in the near future. The two clubs are in the 'final stages' of negotiating his sale, according to Fabrizio Romano, with the Blues set to receive around £18.7m in exchange for the American winger's signature.It is said that Pulisic's exit is 'getting closer' to being finalised, with discussions ongoing to finalise the structure of the deal after Milan's bid was officially submitted on Thursday. Pulisic has reportedly been clear in talks with Chelsea that he wants to join the Italian giants instead of Lyon, who have also been credited with a firm desire to snap him up this summer.Milan are said to be confident that a deal will be wrapped up within the next 48 hours, with the 'final direct contact' between Chelsea and those in power at the San Siro expected to take place on Friday. The move will bring an end to Pulisic's four-year spell with the Blues, who he joined from Borussia Dortmund back in 2019 for a transfer fee in the region of £54m.

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The winger will be hoping to revive his career at Milan after coming to a standstill at Stamford Bridge, where he has failed to establish himself as a first-team regular in recent seasons in spite of his best efforts. He made just eight starts in the Premier League over the course of the previous campaign, with the likes of Raheem Sterling, Mykhaylo Mudryk and Noni Madueke often being preferred to feature on the flanks ahead of him.Pulisic will be helped to settle in at Milan by former Chelsea team-mates Olivier Giroud and Fikayo Tomori, while Loftus-Cheek will be another familiar face in the dressing room after finalising his own move to the San Siro earlier this week. It seems clear that Pulisic will be hoping to play on a regular basis at his new club, with compatriot Brad Friedel having recently urged him to seek a fresh start in order to rediscover the promise he showed at Dortmund.

"It goes back to having too many players at Chelsea, look at who he is up against," the former Tottenham goalkeeper told Sporting Post. "I’m not one of those people who says someone should leave if they’re not playing because I believe you need to fight for your place and prove your worth."But if there aren’t going to be opportunities, Christian is one of the most important players for the USA so we’re going to want him to be playing consistently. It’s going to be one of those summers where either he is told he is in Chelsea’s plans and they offer him a new deal, or he gets sold. Looking at things I’m thinking it’s probably the latter and we’ll see him somewhere else which could be good for him to play consistently."