AC
Milan are in talks with Chelsea over the signing of midfielder Ruben
Loftus-Cheek.
Loftus-Cheek has one year left on his contract at Stamford Bridge but has
the option to extend that by a further year.
The 27-year-old appeared to say goodbye to the fans when he was substituted
during Chelsea's final day 1-1 draw with Newcastle on Sunday.
Earlier this month, Sky Italy reported Milan's interest, with the Rossoneri
thought to be "cautiously optimistic" of getting a deal done for the England
international.
Loftus-Cheek has made 155 appearances for Chelsea since making his debut in
2014, and has won the Premier League, Europa League and UEFA Super Cup
during his time at the club.
Mauricio Pochettino: Chelsea appoint
ex-Tottenham boss as head coach
The news comes after Chelsea confirmed former Tottenham boss Mauricio
Pochettino would take up their vacant manager's position from July 1 on
Monday.
The 51-year-old Argentine, who has signed a two-year deal at Stamford Bridge
with the option of another year, returns to the Premier League following
previous spells in charge of Spurs and Southampton, succeeding Graham
Potter, who was dismissed at the start of April after less than seven months
in charge.
Frank Lampard, who led Chelsea on a caretaker basis until the end of the
season following Potter's sacking, has left the club.
Jesus Perez, Miguel d'Agostino, Toni Jimenez and Sebastiano Pochettino will
form part of Pochettino's coaching staff at Stamford Bridge.
Move makes sense - but neither party can
afford failure
Sky Sports' Joe Shread:
"While Mauricio Pochettino will no doubt be excited to return to the Premier
League and Chelsea will be delighted to have secured a manager of his
pedigree, there is a lot riding on the Argentine's appointment - for both
parties.
"Unusually for a manager whose previous Premier League stint ended with him
being sacked by Tottenham nearly four years ago, Pochettino's stock remains
high in the top flight, with Spurs' regression since his exit helping to
explain why.
"But while the 51-year-old is rightly praised for the work he did at Spurs,
culminating in their first Champions League final in 2019, he ultimately
failed to bring any long-awaited silverware to north London during his
five-year spell in charge - the kind of record that won't be tolerated at
Chelsea.
"Pochettino did end his personal trophy drought at Paris Saint-Germain,
winning the French Cup in 2021 and Ligue 1 a year later, but he was also
sacked by the French giants and has been out of work since last summer.
"That's a long time for an elite coach to be away from the day-to-day of
club management, while the fact that Unai Emery was still at Arsenal and
Frank Lampard had only just begun his first spell in charge of Chelsea at
the point of Pochettino's Spurs exit shows how long he has been away from
the Premier League.
"The pressure on Pochettino is clear - but it weighs even heavier on the
shoulders of his new employers. Since their takeover last summer, Todd
Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have overseen one of the most chaotic and
unsuccessful seasons in Chelsea's recent history.
"After seeing their decision to sack Champions League-winning head coach
Thomas Tuchel and replace him with Graham Potter spectacularly backfire, the
owners need Pochettino - who will be the fifth person to take charge of a
Chelsea match in less than 12 months - to justify their faith."
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