Why AC Milan is the perfect club for Christian Pulisic

The agreement that will make Christian Pulisic an AC Milan player isn't quite over the line yet, as the American star still must undergo a successful medical examination in Italy and then sign the contract that will officially compete his transfer from Chelsea, Pulisic's club of the last four years.

As a practical matter? The deal is done, complete, finito after noted Italian transactions reporter Fabrizio Romano gave Pulisic's move his trademark "Here we go!" treatment ahead of the Rossoneri's now-inevitable announcement.

And it's the ideal destination for the 24-year-old USMNT front man.

Despite helping Chelsea win the 2021 UEFA Champions League during his stay in London, Pulisic never really seemed to fit in with the Blues, or even in the English Premier League, notwithstanding that blistering yet brief run of form inside mostly empty stadiums coming out of the pandemic shutdown in 2020. That hot streak ended when Pulisic tore his hamstring in the FA Cup final loss to Arsenal — one of several injures that prevented him from becoming an everyday player and reaching his full potential at Stamford Bridge.

Whether it was Frank Lampard (twice), his former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel, or the hapless Graham Potter, Pulisic never seemed to fully win over any of his coaches at Chelsea. And despite leading the U.S. men to the knockout stage of the 2022 World Cup midseason and staying mostly healthy in 2022-23, he played fewer Premier League minutes during the last campaign than in any of the previous three.

Now Pulisic has a badly needed fresh start — and he didn't even need to take a step back to get it.

While there's no debating that the obscenely rich English Premier League is currently the planet's best circuit, there's also no question that AC Milan, both historically and right now, is in a much better spot than the Blues. Only Real Madrid has won more European titles than the Rossoneri. AC Milan went deeper than Chelsea in the Champions League last season and will compete in soccer's top club competition again next year. The Blues, which finished 12th in the Prem and lost top scorer Kai Havertz to rival Arsenal earlier this week, won't.

Pulisic is also a far better fit stylistically in the fashion capital of the world than he was in London. For as much as the wiry attacker eventually proved that he could handle the breakneck pace and jail yard physicality of England's top division, his game is particularly well-suited to the more technical, methodical Serie A.

AC Milan also doesn't stockpile all-world talents only to bench them when they don't have immediate success, as Chelsea has for years. It's no coincidence that Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah turned into legitimate global superstars only after they left the Blues. The highest hope is that Pulisic can follow a similar path.

That will of course require playing time and lots of it. Yet that shouldn't be an issue at the San Siro Stadium if he stays healthy. While all three of Pulisic's Chelsea coaches inherited him, Milan manager Stefano Pioli "has driven Milan's interest in Pulisic" and intends to deploy him as a playmaker behind center forward Olivier Giroud rather than on the wing, according to The Athletic.

It can't hurt either that Giroud and Pulisic already have history. The pair became close both on and off the field during their time together at Chelsea, and the French striker will be just one of the familiar faces the American sees when he first gets to Milan, with two other former Blues teammates — Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Fikayo Tomori — also already there.

So, to recap: A storied club that can realistically aspire to win both the Champions League title and domestic honors next season. A coach who actively recruited him and has a specific plan for how to maximize his impact. A league better suited to his particular skillset. And a comfort level in the locker room right away — comfort that will only grow if Milan is also able to land U.S. midfielder Yunus Musah from Spain's Valencia before the transfer window slams shut, as rumored.

Yeah, it's hard to see a better situation than that for Pulisic.

After four years of being mostly underappreciated by Chelsea, Pulisic will finally be in a club environment in which he'll play a central role. He'll be an important contributor counted on to produce, but also given the time to settle in and find his feet if necessary.

We've already seen with the national team what he can do when given that sort of responsibility. Now, barring any last-minute snags, Pulisic will finally get the chance to show exactly how good he is on a weekly basis, just as he's entering his prime.

Here we go, indeed.

Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.