Moises Caicedo: Brighton yet to receive ‘acceptable offer’ for Chelsea target
Chelsea have seen three bids rejected for Moises Caicedo as Brighton hold firm on their £100million plus valuation of the defensive midfielder. The Seagulls have also turned down a rival offer from a mystery club that is said to be worth more than the Blues’ latest bid which was worth £80m.
Caicedo has long-been linked with a transfer, with Arsenal seeing multiple, huge offers turned down in January, and though the player signed a new four-year deal to stay at the Amex in March, it is no secret that he fancies a move to Stamford Bridge.
Caicedo Attempts to Force Chelsea Transfer
On Monday, it was reported that the 21-year-old missed training in an attempt to force his club into selling him ahead of their Premier League opening game against Luton Town on Saturday.
But Brighton’s technical director David Weir is adamant that the Ecuador international will not be going anywhere unless someone wants to pay their asking price, telling Sky Sports: ‘We’ve not had an acceptable offer for Moises, so it’s really clear for us.
‘Moises is our player, he’s under contract. He’s been fantastic for us in terms of what he’s done on the pitch, he’s been a big part of our success and that remains the case. There really is nothing to report on that.’
Brighton’s Transfer Policy
Brighton have had great success with their transfer policy, only selling their best players for the right price and when a suitable replace has been identified and signed. They have advanced higher and higher up the table in recent years, while in the process selling the likes of Marc Cucurella (£56.3m), Ben White (£50.4m), Alexis Mac Allister (£36.2m) and Yves Bissouma (£25.1m).
But asked if Caicedo was in the right frame of mind to play against Luton amid the transfer saga, Weir added: ‘We know it’s not easy for the player. The players have this challenge because everyone sees the media, everyone is on social media and that is difficult.
‘Moises had this situation in January as well and we like to think we helped him with that. Roberto [De Zerbi, Brighton manager] was important in that, the way he brought Moises back into the group. He got him back on the pitch and he showed his quality and that’s always the best solution – do your talking on the pitch and respond in that way and I think Moises did that and deserves credit for this.
Brighton’s Message to Chelsea
‘There will be different challenges now but the message from us is to just try and focus on the football and trust us to take care of that and we’ll see how it develops.’
It remains to be seen if Chelsea will meet Brighton’s asking price for Caicedo, but one thing is certain – Mauricio Pochettino will have to pay £100m if he wants to sign him for Chelsea.