Ruben Loftus-Cheek is close to a departure from Chelsea, with the Englishman set to join AC Milan, Fabrizio Romano has revealed.

What's going on with Chelsea and Loftus-Cheek?

Chelsea are set to appoint Mauricio Pochettino as their next manager following a disastrous season, which has seen them fail to qualify for European competition.

Two windows of heavy spending has meant that Chelsea need to sell players and dramatically reduce the size of their squad, and it seems that Loftus-Cheek will lead an exodus of players from Stamford Bridge.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano confirmed that Champions League semi-finalists AC Milan are close to agreeing a deal for the 27-year-old, who is keen for a fresh start abroad.

"I have an important exclusive update on Chelsea, because from what I understand, one of the first outgoings is to be completed in the next days. We know they have to be smart, that they have to sell or offload players as soon as possible in June, this is going to be a priority for Chelsea," he stated.

"For Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Milan are in very advanced talks, from what I understand. AC Milan are really pushing on that one, negotiations are advanced between clubs, the player is open to the move.

"There is still time to discuss the terms of this deal between the clubs and the player's side, but the conversation is concrete, it's advanced and so Loftus-Cheek could leave Chelsea, and try a new experience in Italy with Milan leading the race."

Who else could Chelsea look to sell?

Loftus-Cheek seems an obvious departure, given that £120k-per-week midfielder never nailed down a starting spot at Chelsea since coming through the academy, but the midfielder did make 30 appearances this season and could have perhaps been a useful backup in the squad.

Mateo Kovacic, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mason Mount have all been linked with exits, and the likes of Hakim Ziyech and Edouard Mendy could also be shown the door as Chelsea aim to move on from some of their older players.

Pochettino is rumoured to desire a younger squad in order to get Chelsea back on track and competing at the top again. The club invested heavily in Mykhailo Mudryk and Enzo Fernandez, and may seek to build the team around these promising talents, whilst finding exit routes for a number of others.