Ruben Loftus-Cheek heads to Milan in £15m deal as Chelsea continue clearout
Chelsea will continue the clearout of their squad by selling Ruben LoftusCheek to Milan. The clubs have agreed a fee of £15m plus add-ons for the midfielder, who could be followed to San Siro by Christian Pulisic.
Milan are interested in Pulisic and are considering whether to push ahead with a move for the Chelsea winger. The USA captain has been inconsistent since leaving Borussia Dortmund for £58m four years ago and will be allowed to leave Stamford Bridge this summer.
Chelsea are in the process of lightening their bloated squad and the departure of Loftus-Cheek, whose contract expires next year, will bring in more funds. The 27-year-old came through Chelsea’s academy but has struggled with injuries during his time at the club. Loftus-Cheek, who was part of England’s squad at the 2018 World Cup, picked up a serious achilles injury in 2019 and will hope to earn more regular football in Italy.
Milan, who are looking to strengthen in midfield after agreeing to sell
Sandro Tonali to Newcastle, have had many dealings with Chelsea. The Italians, who will play in the Champions League next season, bought the England defender, Fikayo Tomori, from Chelsea in 2021. Chelsea could attempt to sign the Milan goalkeeper, Mike Maignan, this summer.
Loftus-Cheek’s exit has been preceded by N’Golo Kanté joining Al-Ittihad on a free transfer and Kalidou Koulibaly moving to Al-Hilal for £17m. The goalkeeper, Édouard Mendy, is set to join Al-Ahli and the Morocco winger, Hakim Ziyech, is moving to Al-Nassr.
Deals are in place for Manchester City to sign Mateo Kovacic for an initial £25m and Arsenal to sign Kai Havertz for £65m, while Manchester United have left their offer of £55m for Mason Mount on the table. Internazionale are due to table a new loan bid for Romelu Lukaku.