Chelsea Expected To Fall 10M Short With First Bid For “Magnificent” South American Star

Chelsea Expected To Fall 10M Short With First Bid For “Magnificent” South American Star

Chelsea have “tested the water” by offering £65m for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.

The Seagulls have set a £75m asking price for the Ecuadorian international so the Blues’ are not expecting their proposal to be accepted and Jacobs says a deal is more likely to happen nearer the end of the transfer window:

Caicedo has plenty of other suitors, including Liverpool and Newcastle, but Chelsea do look best placed to sign him, with manager Graham Potter keen to be reunited with his former player.

The 21-year-old has emerged as one of Brighton’s best performers this season, having established himself as a first-team regular. Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp has praised the midfielder’s ability, stating a couple of months ago:

“He has been magnificent. He possesses all the attributes to play really well in every area. He’s a brilliant tackler, the timing has to be spot on with the modern game. You get it wrong, you get booked, you’re on a knife edge for the rest of the game.”

“But he makes tackling look so easy. I remember Scott Parker was a magnificent tackler, used to do this very well. He can also play, he’s very progressive with his passing, looks to play people in. He’s just been a revelation since he’s come there and I’m sure a lot of clubs will be looking at him right now.”

It seems Todd Boehly and the club’s recruitment team have settled on Caicedo as their main alternative to Benfica’s Enzo Fernandez but, as Jacobs mentions, the Ecuadorian’s change of agents means patience will be required to get this deal over the line in January.

David Tully

David Tully

David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for National World's Football News Network.