Chelsea are determined to hold their ground in ongoing negotiations to sign Moisés Caicedo, as Brighton insist on a minimum fee of £100m for the talented midfielder.
Caicedo is Chelsea’s main target as they look to bolster their midfield under manager Mauricio Pochettino. While Chelsea believe an offer of around £80m would be enough to secure the Ecuador international’s services, Brighton are looking towards Declan Rice’s £105m move from West Ham to Arsenal as a benchmark. indicating
Rice is on the verge of becoming the most expensive British player, and Chelsea themselves broke the British transfer record in January when they signed Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for £106.8m. These figures have not gone unnoticed by Brighton, and it is understood that the club’s high demands have slowed down negotiations with Chelsea over Caicedo throughout the week.
Brighton, who have already lost midfielder Alexis McAllister to Liverpool, are determined to drive a hard bargain. The club rejected bids from both Arsenal and Chelsea for Caicedo in January, and the 21-year-old midfielder has since signed a contract with the option of an extra year until 2027. On the plus side for Pochettino, Caicedo himself is keen on a move to Stamford Bridge.
With the departures of N’Golo Kanté, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount, and Mateo Kovacic and the January sale of Jorginho to Arsenal, Chelsea are in desperate need of reinforcements in midfield. Talks to explore the possibility of signing Celta Vigo midfielder Gabriel Vega, who has a £34.4million buyout clause, are set to take place next week. Vega is being pursued by several top clubs including Liverpool, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and Manchester City.
Chelsea are determined not to overpay for Caicedo and are wary of repeating past experiences of challenging negotiations with Brighton. Over the past year, the two clubs have made extensive deals, starting with Brighton’s Mark Cukorella’s £62m move to Chelsea. Subsequently, Chelsea recruited Brighton head coach Graham Potter in September, and his associate sporting director Paul Winstanley also joined the club.
Winstanley, a key figure in Chelsea’s transfer activities, is a familiar face to Brighton’s negotiators. The aim will be to find a compromise for Caicedo, although Chelsea are adamant about not including Levi Colwill as part of any potential deal. Coleville spent last season on loan at Brighton, having had a £30m bid rejected. Instead, Chelsea are set to offer the promising 20-year-old centre-back a new long-term deal.
As Stamford Bridge undergoes a rebuilding process, César Azpilicueta has become the latest long-serving player to leave the club. The 33-year-old defender, who joined Chelsea in 2012, left on a free transfer and signed a one-year contract with Atlético Madrid. Additionally, Chelsea are currently in talks to sell Christian Pulisic to Milan, with the Italian club showing increasing interest in signing the talented American winger. Additionally, Chelsea hope Al Nasr will resume their pursuit of Hakim Ziyech.
