Pulisic gives Chelsea PERFECT chance to sign French wonderkid loved by Mbappe and Zidane

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 3 Jul 2023 11:04 BST
• 4 min read

Cristian Pulisic has edged closer to a Chelsea exit following offers from both AC Milan and Lyon as the Blues eye up a potential sale.

Pulisic, 24, joined the Stamford Bridge outfit in 2019, but has failed to impress on English shores despite enjoying a productive first season in London.

The United States of America international netted 11 goals and provided 10 assists during his opening campaign at Chelsea, but he suffered an hamstring injury in the 2020 FA Cup final defeat to Arsenal and hasn’t been able to rediscover his form since then.

READ: Chelsea star given DEADLINE to prove himself to Pochettino

With just one year left on his contract, Pulisic is set to leave the club this summer as part of a mass overhaul at Chelsea.

The Blues have already sold Kai Havertz, Mateo Kovacic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and N’Golo Kante as they prepare for life under Mauricio Pochettino’s management.

According to the Evening Standard, Milan have lodged a €14 million bid for Pulisic and are reluctant to offer more than €20m - which is how much they spent to pry Loftus-Cheek away from Stamford Bridge.

READ: Chelsea target French wonderkid Zidane has wanted for years

However, this is below Chelsea’s valuation of the USMNT international, which opens the door for a move to Lyon. The Ligue 1 giants have presented Chelsea with an offer of €24.5m, which includes favourable add-ons and a sell-on clause.

Pulisic reportedly favours a move to Milan, with the San Siro side able to offer Champions League football after finishing in fourth place in Serie A last season. By contrast, Lyon finished seventh in Ligue 1 and will not compete in any European competition next campaign.

Chelsea can use Pulisic interest to sign Cherki

With Lyon offering more than Milan, Chelsea are likely to favour selling Pulisic to the Ligue 1 club, which could bring Rayan Cherki into play.

Cherki, 19, is reportedly on Chelsea’s radar as they look to add another attacking midfielder to their squad due to Mason Mount’s imminent move to Manchester United.

According to Chelsea journalist Simon Phillips, the Blues are exploring a possible move for Cherki, who has impressed the club’s hierarchy with his form since emerging onto the scene at Lyon.

Back in 2020, aged just 16, Cherki scored two goals and provided two assists in a 4-2 Coupe de France victory against Nantes, which prompted Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe to shower the young French star with praise. After the game, Mbappe tweeted: "Don’t talk to him too much about age, huh."

Zinedine Zidane is also a fan and reportedly wanted Florentino Perez to commit to signing Cherki should he return to replace Carlo Ancelotti in the Santiago Bernabeu hotseat this summer.

Cherki netted four goals and notched six assists in Ligue 1 last campaign, and if Chelsea are serious about signing him, they could use Pulisic as a bargaining chip to land the French youngster - a solution that may appeal to all parties.

The Lyon star was included in France's U21 squad for this summer's European Championships, but despite notching a sublime opening goal, he was unable to prevent a 3-1 defeat to Ukraine at the quarter-final stage.