Newcastle green light Christian Pulisic transfer with Chelsea solution clear amid $76m deal

Chelsea transfer news: Christian Pulisic is at the centre of a battle between Lyon and AC Milan but it is Newcastle that have landed a helpful impact in the market

The last of Christian Pulisic at Chelsea is nigh. It has already, in all likelihood, happened. He has played his last game, had a downbeat farewell that never really existed and he has participated in his last pre-season tour.

"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," he said. There it is. Then the last couple of years happened and this promising golden boy got sucked into the lifeless bowl that Chelsea has become.

Hardly his fault, just another wasted piece in the attacking jigsaw collapse at Stamford Bridge. That time is up, though. With 12 months left on his contract he is going to be sold and the good news is that there are no shortage of buyers in this game.

The Italian side have also just sold midfield star Sandro Tonali for a generous £60m ($76m) to Newcastle and even with financial pressure coming from all sides in Serie A, they cannot claim to be cash strapped when it comes to Pulisic. It is said that San Siro is the end goal for Pulisic. With Champions League football and a greater established history, they are a perfect new challenge.

Lyon have taken a more direct approach, though, with a closer bid worth a reported £19m ($25m) plus a negotiated and sizeable sell-on fee. Like with Milan, lines of communication are open and positive between the clubs after Malo Gusto moved the other way to west London in January.

Chelsea included a six-month loan back to France for Gusto to sweaten that deal and they may well bear the fruits of such a tactic as the Ligue 1 outfit move into pole position. They have got two teams battling it out with offers for a player they both see as hugely important to summer plans and for a middling price.

Considering Pulisic made his Champions League debut seven years ago it is remarkable that a player of his experience and unquestioned talent is in a position to move across Europe for such a small fee, in proportion to other business being done.

For now, though, there is no room to be picky and Pulisic's exit looks to be a formality one way or the other.