Chelsea are keen on having 21-year-old Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo in their ranks but won’t meet the Seagulls’ valuation.
According to Rudy Galetti via GIVEMESPORT, Chelsea are all set to hold fresh talks with Brighton & Hove Albion as they look to sign Moises Caicedo. The 21-year-old has been on their radar for a while now, and they have been making moves of late to secure his services. However, they are not ready to meet the asking price of £100 million and have set a limit of £90 million.
Caicedo has been on the radar of Arsenal and Chelsea for over six months. Both the clubs wanted to sign him back in January. The Gunners even placed a bid of around £70 million, which was rejected by the Seagulls.
Mikel Arteta’s team have secured the services of Declan Rice from West Ham United for a club-record fee. While they still remain interested in Caicedo, they won’t be pushing for him until they complete a few outgoings.
As a result, Chelsea have a major advantage and they are trying everything in power to land the 21-year-old at the club. The Blues recently parted ways with N’Golo Kante. The French World Cup winner’s departure leaves a major void in the midfield. And, their new manager Mauricio Pochettino wants to try and fill that void by signing Caicedo.
Chelsea believe he has all the qualities need to fit in the Argentine manager’s system and could be a great signing for the present as well as the future. The Blues have been in talks with the Seagulls over the past few weeks. The London club were involved in a meeting with Brighton last week, as the two tried to reach a general understanding over a fixed fee of around £80 million.
Galetti said, “Brighton ask for £100m, but Chelsea won’t exceed £90m. This week could be decisive for the future of Caicedo: an important talk between Chelsea and Brighton is scheduled in the next days.”
However, things have slowed down a touch of late as they look to decide the overall package. Brighton are standing firm in their valuation of £100 million valuation. However, the Blues are not ready to go beyond £90 million with add-ons included.
Meanwhile, the two clubs are all set to meet for decisive talks in the coming days. Galetti believes a decision should be reached within the next week about the 21-year-old’s future. With Brighton not ready to lower their price tag, it will be interesting to see how the Blues tackle the situation and if they can strike a deal within £90 million.
