Chelsea are not ready to give up on their pursuit of Moises Caicedo as the Blues prepare to make a fresh bid for the Brighton midfielder after Liverpool tried to hijack their move, according to the Telegraph.
Caicedo has been heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge this summer with the 21-year-old keen to join Mauricio Pochettino’s side but the Seagulls are standing firm on their £100m asking price.
The newspaper claims that the West Londoners want to sign the South American before the start of the 2023/24 season, which kicks off this week as they welcome Liverpool at home on August 13.
Chelsea have had several bids rejected with the latest offer worth £80m dismissed by Brighton, as per the report. He missed Brighton’s final pre-season game against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday due to a slight hamstring injury.
The club’s chief executive, Paul Barber disclosed that Roberto De Zerbi did not want to risk Caicedo ahead of the new season.
“Moises had a slight hamstring injury late in training and was pulled out for that reason. With a Premier League season just a week away it makes no sense to risk him today, Barber said via the Telegraph.
“We’re looking forward to Moises starting the season with us, he’s a Brighton player under a long-term contract.
“He’s probably one of the most exciting young midfield players in the world at the moment and we’re delighted to have him.”
Fresh bid
Chelsea will need to act fast in their quest to sign Caicedo with several clubs still monitoring the situation including Liverpool – who submitted an offer more than £80m for the young midfielder as they look to hijack the move.
The Reds are also in the market to bolster their options in the middle of the park despite bringing in two midfielders following the arrivals of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
The departure of five midfielders including skipper Jordan Henderson and Fabinho has created a gap in their engine room. Jurgen Klopp’s main priority is to sign Romeo Lavia from Southampton but if the deal drags on, they could look elsewhere for alternatives.
Chelsea have also lost several midfielders such as N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Pochettino is keen on revamping his options.
According to the Telegraph, Chelsea’s ongoing interest is a result of Brighton being on the verge of completing a big-man move for Ajax midfielder Mohammed Kudus. The fee could cost in the region of £35m, surpassing the £30m paid for Watford forward Joao Pedro this summer.
This could play a key role in Brighton’s stance on Caicedo and but we will have to wait and see if Chelsea’s new bid will be closer to the Seagulls’ valuation.
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