Chelsea and AC Milan have agreed an £18million deal for Ruben Loftus-Cheek to move to the San Siro, football.london understands.
Loftus-Cheek, who has 12 months remaining on his contract at Stamford Bridge, is now all set to call time on his almost 20-year-long association with the west London club. The 27-year-old has made 155 appearances for the Blues in all competitions – in a career that has been hampered by injury problems.
The Lewisham-born midfielder will now join former Chelsea teammate Fikayo Tomori in Milan, with personal terms already agreed. The fee is set to be £15m up front with a further £3m arriving in add-ons as a later date.
Loftus-Cheek made his professional debut for Chelsea in 2014 but didn't really make his breakthrough as an established Premier League midfielder until 2017/18 where he spent the season on loan at fellow London club Crystal Palace. The English midfielder did really well for Palace but when he returned to Chelsea, he suffered a serious Achilles injury that kept him out for almost 12 months.
Ever since, it has been a bit of a struggle for Loftus-Cheek to keep fit and produce his best football. However, he did register 33 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions last season.
Loftus-Cheek is set to become the third Chelsea player to depart the club this summer following N'Golo Kante and Kalidou Koulibaly both completing permanent transfers recently. The Blues are also looking to improve their midfield in time for next season with Brighton's Moises Caicedo the club's top target right now.
football.london understands that Chelsea and Caicedo have verbally agreed personal terms, but the Seagulls' valuation – believed to be around £80m – is proving to be the stumbling block at the moment. Chelsea, though, remain in talks with Brighton to try and find a solution to the problem.
READ NEXT:
Moises Caicedo breakthrough, multiple exits and £18m windfall - Chelsea's dream transfer week
Chelsea news and transfers LIVE: All of the latest updates coming out of Stamford Bridge
