It’s no secret at this point – Chelsea are very keen to secure a transfer deal for Brighton star Moises Caicedo.

The Seagulls are not making it easy – according to Fabrizio Romano on Twitter, they recently rejected a bid of £80 million from Chelsea – but with the Blues’ seemingly bottomless transfer budget, it seems they will be able to agree a deal with enough persistence.

Today, we will take a look at why Chelsea are so keen to finalise a transfer for Caicedo – we believe he could be the player to thrust the Blues back into European contention.

Why Moises Caicedo will add what Chelsea were lacking in midfield last season

Last season, despite the vast swathes of money they spent, Chelsea’s squad was riddled with issues. It was heavily unbalanced – the main issue was a surplus of wingers and attacking midfielders who had to be rotated on a frequent basis to keep everyone within the team happy.

However, more pressingly, they were lacking an out-and-out defensive midfielder. N’Golo Kante, for example, was well past his best last season and has now left the club.

There was also Mateo Kovacic – but he is more accurately described as a box-to-box player, rather than a holding midfielder. Like Kante, he has also left the club – next season, Kovacic will ply his trade at Manchester City.

As a defensively sound, aggressive and powerful player at the base of midfield, Caicedo could be just what the doctor ordered – he will make it much more difficult to breach Chelsea’s backline next season if the Blues can seal a deal for the Ecuadorian starlet.

Can the Blues secure a deal for Caicedo amid competition?

At this stage, it is impossible to say – nevertheless, Chelsea appear to be leading the race to acquire Caicedo’s signature in the ongoing summer transfer window.

Of course, several other clubs are believed to interested in snapping up the Brighton midfielder, including Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

According to a report from TalkSPORT, Chelsea are 1/6 favourites to sign Caicedo before the 2023 summer window slams shut. Their closest competitors in the race are Chelsea and Manchester United, who have both been given odds of 5/1 to seal a deal.