Chelsea's Ruben Loftus-Cheek 'set for AC Milan move'

After a record-breaking spending spree in January, Chelsea look set to continue their mass exodus of players this summer.

N'Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy, Hakim Ziyech and Kalidou Koulibaly are all on their way to Saudi Arabia, while rumours of departures for Mason Mount, Romelu Lukaku and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have been prominent recently too.

Loftus-Cheek failed to score in 33 appearances for the Blues this season, in what was a torrid campaign for the club as they finished down in 12th in the Premier League, and he now looks set to move on from the club where he started his career.

After appearing in all of England's matches at the 2018 World Cup, a dip in form at club level means Loftus-Cheek has not been called up since by Gareth Southgate.

With Fabrizio Romano claiming that the player is set to land in Milan on Thursday to complete a move to the Rossoneri, Loftus-Cheek will hope to follow in the footsteps of fellow Englishmen Fikayo Tomori, Chris Smalling and Tammy Abraham who have had good spells in Serie A.

The fee is reported to be around €20m (£17m) with add-ons included, and will see Loftus-Cheek venture abroad for the first time, after previous loan spells at Crystal Palace and Fulham.

Milan are in the market for a central midfielder with a deal which will see Sandro Tonali join Newcastle United looking ever closer.

Tonali has been a regular in midfield under Stefano Pioli since joining from Brescia in 2020, and he will leave a gap in that area of the pitch, with Ismael Bennacer also currently nursing a nasty knee injury.

Loftus-Cheek's versatility at also featuring as wing-back in his time at Chelsea may be of benefit to Milan too, who at times reverted to a back three last season, including in their Champions League success over Tottenham Hotspur.