Chelsea are trying to sign Moises Caicedo to bolster their midfield this summer, but Andy Naylor of The Athletic says the Blues haven’t offered anywhere near enough for Brighton & Hove Albion to accept. The Seagulls are requesting £100m for Caicedo, but Chelsea haven’t bid more than £70m, so he isn’t going anywhere until they up their offer.
Mauricio Pochettino desperately needs new additions to the engine room after the Blues sold Mason Mount to Manchester United, Mateo Kovacic to Manchester City, Ruben Loftus-Cheek to AC Milan and N’Golo Kanté to Ittihad Club while releasing Tiemoué Bakayoko. Caicedo is a talented ball-winner, so he’d be Kante’s direct replacement.
Caicedo has a bright future
The 21-year-old joined Brighton for only £4.5m in 2021 and wouldn’t play in the first-team until 2022 due to an immediate loan spell at Beerschot V.A, but he’s been outstanding ever since. Caicedo has made 53 appearances in all competitions, scoring two goals with three assists, staking a claim as one of the best defensive-midfielders in the Premier League already.
No Chelsea player has averaged more interceptions per game than Caicedo (1.5) while only Marc Cucurella has averaged more tackles per game (2.8) than Caicedo (2.7). Reece James was the only regular that averaged more chances created (1.3) than the Ecuadorian international (1.2), and only Joao Felix won more freekicks (1.8) than Caicedo (1.5).
Chelsea lacking midfielders
With Kante being sold, Chelsea lost a player that could frequently turn the ball over. With Kovacic being sold, Chelsea lost a box-to-box player with great composure in possession. And with Mount being sold, Chelsea lost a goalscoring midfielder who made just as many assists.
Caicedo isn’t prolific in front of goal and doesn’t assist much, but he is good on the ball and frequently turns over possession. Whether Chelsea believe he’s worth £100m remains to be seen, but he is only 21 years of age with the world at his feet. Brighton have him tied down until 2027, however, so they don’t need to budge from their lofty valuation.
