The Blues confirmed via their Twitter account this evening that they had reached an agreement with the Serie A club.
However, the completion of the transfer is subject to a medical and Essien agreeing to personal terms.
The Ghana international first joined Chelsea in 2005 from Lyon, but spent last season on loan at Real Madrid.
He returned to Stamford Bridge in the summer, but has made just nine appearances since then.
Restore Data
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS | |
| 1 | Liverpool | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 25 |
| 2 | Manchester CityMan City | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 23 |
| 3 | Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 19 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 18 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 18 |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 15 | 2 | 18 |
| 7 | Tottenham HotspurSpurs | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 11 | 11 | 16 |
| 8 | Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 16 |
| 9 | Fulham | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 15 |
| 10 | Bournemouth | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 15 |
| 11 | Newcastle UnitedNewcastle | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 15 |
| 12 | Brentford | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 19 | 20 | -1 | 13 |
| 13 | Manchester UnitedMan Utd | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 12 |
| 14 | West Ham UnitedWest Ham | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 19 | -6 | 11 |
| 15 | Leicester CityLeicester | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 18 | -4 | 10 |
| 16 | Everton | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 9 |
| 17 | Crystal Palace | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 13 | -5 | 7 |
| 18 | Ipswich TownIpswich | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 21 | -11 | 5 |
| 19 | Southampton | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 19 | -12 | 4 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton WanderersWolves | 10 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 27 | -13 | 3 |
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