Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic is attracting interest from reigning Serie A champions AC Milan, who are said to have already started the groundwork for a deal this summer.
According to PianetaMilan, the club were able to brush many issues within the squad under the rug last campaign when they stormed to a 19th Italian top-flight title. These were not dealt with last summer, which has resulted in Milan sitting in sixth, 18 points off current leaders Napoli and without a win in seven matches.
One of these problems is the lack of a consistent, quality right-sided forward, with Junior Messias and Alexis Saelemaekers failing to fit these requirements throughout the ongoing campaign.
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Thus Chelsea's opponent from this season's Champions League group stage are rumoured to have turned their attention to the USMNT captain. The Italians see three beneficial factors that work in their favour to complete the transfer.
The Italians reportedly see three beneficial factors that work in their favour to complete the transfer. One, with the Blues' additions of Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke and RB Leipzig's Christopher Nkunku also destined to sign for the club this summer, even when Pulisic is not troubled by injury he would face an uphill struggle for a place in Graham Potter 's squad.
Two, the 24-year-old's current deal of Chelsea expires in just under 18 month's time, so co-owner Todd Boehly may see it wise to recoup as much of the £57.6 million fee the club's previous ownership handed to next week's Champions League round-of-16 opponents Borussia Dortmund for his services in 2019.
Boehly, and Clearlake Capital, oversaw unprecedented levels of investment into Chelsea’s squad across the last two transfer windows. The club spent around £250m in the summer followed by £323m in January.
Milan believe the price for Pulisic would be in the region of €15-20 million (£13.3m to £17.5m) - their third and final reason why Pulisic is the ideal target - as it fits their current budget more suitably than the other name on the list, Nicolo Zaniolo.
Former Blues boss Jose Mourinho allowed the wantaway Italian to leave AS Roma last month in a public transfer saga. Many expected his destination to be Milan, though they were priced out of the move in the end and he ended up at Turkish club Galatasaray.
However, it is believed Zaniolo could return to his home country as soon as the season's end, as there is a €35m (£31m) release clause in the contract with his new club to be able to do so. Whether that amount remains too high for Milan will have to be seen. If it is, then it would not be a surprise to see a move for Pulisic come to fruition in the following months.
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