Chelsea Fear Breaking the Bank to Sign Moises Caicedo

Chelsea fear they will have to break the bank to sign Moises Caicedo this summer after Brighton set a £100m asking price for the Ecuador international. The midfielder is Mauricio Pochettino’s first choice following the club’s fire sale earlier this summer.

The likes of Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kante andMateo Kovacic have all left Stamford Bridge in the last month, leaving a huge gap in Chelsea’s midfield and Pochettino had expected Caicedo to arrive in order to fill it.

The midfielder agreed personal terms with Chelsea at the end of last season, and he was hopeful that a fee could be agreed with Brighton before the Blues fly to the United States for their pre-season tour.

Brighton’s Valuation

However, Chelsea’s first bid of £60m for Caicedo was immediately turned down by Brighton. Chelsea were never optimistic that their initial bid would be accepted, but felt it was a good starting point to reach a deal. The Blues believed Brighton’s valuation of the midfielder was nearer £75m, having rejected just shy of £70m from Arsenal in January.

However, having seen Declan Rice join the Gunners for a fee of around £105m, the Evening Standard say the Seagulls are holding out for a similar fee. That means Chelsea’s second bid of around £70m plus add-ons, will be turned down.

Chelsea’s Fear

Chelsea fear they will have to spend £100m+ on a midfielder for the second time in seven months following their £107m acquisition of Enzo Fernandez in January.

Caicedo has attempted to engineer a move to Stamford Bridge by admitting he could not turn down Chelsea. ‘It’s a big team, that’s true,’ he told Ecuadorian television station TC Television last week. ‘A very historic team which I can’t say no [to joining] because it’s a very big, historic, beautiful team. The city as well is beautiful. It’s got everything beautiful.’

Conclusion

Chelsea are facing a difficult task in signing Moises Caicedo this summer as Brighton have set an asking price of £100m for the Ecuador international. The Blues are hoping to reach an agreement with Brighton for a fee closer to £75m, but with Declan Rice joining Arsenal for a similar fee, it looks like Chelsea will have to break the bank once again to sign Caicedo.

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