The reporter gives a crucial Caicedo to Chelsea update with “We’re hearing at the Brighton end”
Chelsea is still pushing to sign Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo and has a free run at him this summer, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.
Is Caicedo signing for Chelsea?
The Blues are desperately in need of bolstering their midfield ahead of the 2023/24 Premier League season, especially with experienced pair N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic moving on this season.
Enzo Fernandez has proven to be an excellent signing, having arrived in the January transfer window and been one of the few positives from a dreadful season at Stamford Bridge, but more reinforcements are now required.
It looks as though Caicedo is Chelsea’s primary transfer target in the coming weeks, with the 21-year-old standing out as one of Brighton’s best players in 2022/23, averaging 2.7 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per game in the league, as well as 1.2 key passes per match.
While the Seagulls star is clearly a highly-rated young football with a potentially huge career ahead of him, it does look as though the race to sign him has narrowed down recently, acting as a significant boost to the Blues.
What’s the latest on Caicedo to Chelsea?
Speaking to Caught Offside, Jacobs gave a positive update regarding Chelsea’s pursuit of Caicedo this summer, suggesting they are the front-runners to snap him up:
“Chelsea are pushing, there is not necessarily a direct rival yet, but there could still be a twist and it will be interesting to see what the price is.
“We’re hearing at the Brighton end £100m+ but from my understanding, there is a verbal agreement between Caicedo and De Zerbi that says he can go for a fair offer and the Caicedo camp made it clear before he signed a new deal after January – that fair deal is basically the Tchouameni package and that is about £70m plus add-ons.
“I think Chelsea or another suitor might be able to get a deal there. Arsenal are not looking at Caicedo at this point but that could change if Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey go and Manchester United were never realistically going to be able to come in for Caicedo.”
This is an exciting update from a Chelsea perspective, with Caicedo surely looking highly likely to be plying his trade at Stamford Bridge from next season onwards.
Granted, Ecuador international is going to cost a lot of money, but the funds are seemingly there to make new signings this summer, especially if the club manager disposes of some of the deadwood, easing the wage bill in the process.
Caicedo has been lauded by former Chelsea and Brighton manager Graham Potter in the past, which further highlights what an exciting addition he would be, with the Englishman saying of him last August:
“It doesn’t surprise me that people are looking at him because he is playing at a fantastic level. As soon as you do research on him you realize he is a top kid, a great person, young, playing in the Premier League, has all the attributes to play at the very, very highest level.”
