AC Milan could miss out on Christian Pulisic as Lyon swoop in with £21m bid for Chelsea & USMNT star

Posted Monday, July 03, 2023 by Goal.com

AC Milan have reportedly submitted a £12 million ($15m) bid for Chelsea and USMNT star Christian Pulisic - but Lyon have made an ever better offer.

WHAT HAPPENED: According to The Athletic, Milan lodged a verbal opening offer for Pulisic on Sunday after identifying him as a primary target. The U.S. men's national team winger has already agreed on personal terms for a move to San Siro from Chelsea, where he is still under contract until 2024.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: It has previously been reported that the Blues are looking for at least £20m ($26m) for Pulisic, but Milan are hopeful of bringing that asking price down. The Rossoneri want to reunite Pulisic with his former Chelsea team-mate Olivier Giroud as they seek to bolster their attacking options for next season.

AND WHAT'S MORE: Milan have built up a strong business relationship with Chelsea, having signed Fikayo Tomori in 2021 and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in a £15m deal last week. Pulisic is said to be pushing to join the duo at San Siro, but Milan are not the only interested party. The Athletic has also reported that Lyon have submitted a rival £21 million ($27m) for the USMNT talisman, which is set to include a "meaningful sell-on clause". The French club have edged ahead of Milan in the race for Pulisic after sending the written offer, which matches Chelsea's valuation of the player.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR PULISIC? As it stands, the Chelsea attacker is due to report for pre-season under new manager Mauricio Pochettino later this month, but there is now a good chance he will join the club's long list of summer departees. Kai Havertz, N'Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy are among those to have left Stamford Bridge already as the Blues continue to trim their bloated squad after a disastrous 2022-23 campaign.