07 July 2023 , 07:45
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After Mason Mount completed his £60m move from Chelsea to Manchester United, he became the seventh senior star to depart Stamford Bridge this summer.
Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy and N'Golo Kante have all swapped the Premier League for Saudi Arabia, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek has joined up with fellow Chelsea academy graduate Fikayo Tomori at AC Milan. Mateo Kovacic and Kai Havertz, meanwhile, have completed switches to Manchester City and Arsenal respectively.
However, the exits have not stopped with Mount, with club captain Cesar Azpilicueta also leaving Chelsea to join Atletico Madrid. Azpilicueta spent 11 years with the club, having joined from Marseille in 2012, and helped them win seven major honours including two Premier League titles and the Champions League.
"It is difficult to express with words what I feel," Azpilicueta said in an emotional farewell video. "It has been incredible and just thank you, to everyone. This is my home and I hope to see everybody back here one day."
And forward Christian Pulisic looks set to follow Azpilicueta out the door, with the American the subject of heavy interest from AC Milan. The Serie A side, who have signed the likes of Loftus-Cheek, Tomori, Olivier Giroud and Tiemoue Bakayoko from Chelsea in recent years, are keen to bolster their attack this summer.
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The Athletic report that AC Milan have already tabled two bids for Pulisic, with their latest worth up to €22m (£18.9m). An opening offer of €14m (£12m) was rejected by the Blues and there is also competition from French side Lyon.
Lyon have offered €25m (£21.4m) for Pulisic, but the 24-year-old is understood to prefer a move to Italy. Pulisic is said to have already agreed personal terms with Milan and the fact he holds a Croatian passport through his grandfather means he would not fill one of their two non-EU registration slots.
Pulisic struggled for game time at Chelsea last season, with the majority of his 24 Premier League appearances coming off the bench. "It's been a really tough season for me personally and for our team of course at a club level," Pulisic admitted to ESPN last month.
Christian Pulisic looks set to be the next Chelsea player to leave (AFP via Getty Images)"So for me it's just about coming in here and having a fresh start and being able to be a part of a team that hopefully can come out and win some games. So I'm really excited to be here and just to get some minutes on the field and just get back to being that confident player that I know I can be and just find my footing again and just enjoying the game because it feels like it's been tough to do that lately.
"Obviously, it's been an interesting journey at club level for me. I thought it was a great couple years and the last couple years just haven't gone at all how I've planned them to be.
"And right now my focus is obviously here with the national team. I'm just excited to get back playing and just enjoy myself and do what I love to do out on the field. And from there, this summer, we're obviously going to have to see what happens.
"It's obviously very early. As of right now I'm a Chelsea player and I plan to go back. But a lot of things can happen. A lot of things can change."