Christian Pulisic’s departure from Chelsea is imminent with the American star having accepted in principle a transfer to Serie A’s AC Milan, according to ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle.
Pulisic, 24, is likely to take a sizable pay cut in order to make the deal work. However, the two clubs have yet to agree on an exact transfer fee as Chelsea is seeking around €25 million ($27.3m) for the forward, with Milan believed to want the deal closer to the €15m–€18m ($16.4m–$19.6m) range, Carlisle reports.
Negotiations over the details of the move are still being discussed, but Pulisic is reportedly only seeking a transfer to Milan.
The market for the standout American forward started to heat up over the past few months, despite him having one year remaining on his contract at Chelsea. A number of clubs, including Milan, Juventus, Manchester United and Newcastle were all reportedly connected to Pulisic as his situation with the Blues became increasingly unsteady.
Pulisic, who began his career with Borussia Dortmund, arrived at Chelsea with high expectations in 2019. However, his career with the Premier League powerhouse was marred by injuries which contributed to him falling out of favor among the crowded group of forwards in the club’s lineup.
This past season, Pulisic played in just 24 matches after suffering a January knee injury, making just eight starts—his lowest such total in seven years. Chelsea finished 12th in the Premier League at 11-16-11 with 44 points.
Despite his success at the international level, which included a strong showing at last year’s World Cup and more recently being named Best Player during the USMNT’s CONCACAF Nations League win, Pulisic only scored 20 career goals in 98 games with Chelsea dating back to 2019.
Should the transfer to AC Milan become official, Pulisic will join a club that finished fourth in Serie A this past season, earning a spot in the Champions League next year.
