Chelsea and Brighton and Hove Albion are still in talks over a potential transfer for their 21-year-old midfielder Moises Caicedo
Earlier this season, a transfer speculation involving the Ecuadorian international saw Arsenal trying to sign him. But now that the Gunners are concentrating their efforts on Declan Rice, it looks like the Blues will be the ones to get Caicedo this summer. Numerous elite English football clubs have long admired Caicedo, with Arsenal and Chelsea expressing specific interest in signing him in 2023.
Originally hired in the winter of 2022 to fill in for Bissouma, Caicedo has since established himself as a mainstay in the Seagulls’ midfield and may have even outperformed the player who left the team for Tottenham Hotspur before the start of the previous campaign. According to Transfermarkt, Caicedo, who was dubbed a “revelation” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, maintained his stellar play in the 2022–23 season, making a total of 37 appearances for Brighton in the Premier League alone.
He previously extended his contract with the coastal club, so if he were to depart this summer, he would probably command a large amount. According to Fabrizio Romano, Brighton are holding out for a value of at least £70 million. Chelsea are in severe need of midfield reinforcements after discontinuing their pursuit in Manuel Ugarte, Mateo Kovacic leaving for Manchester City, and Mason Mount joining Manchester United.
In order to free up Enzo Fernandez to concentrate on dominating the game with the ball, the Blues must buy a player who can play alongside him in the middle of the park and is possibly more defensively minded than the Argentine. Certainly one player who fits that description is Caicedo. According to Sofascore, the Ecuadorian added some defensive awareness to the Chelsea team during the 2022–23 Premier League season by averaging an excellent 1.5 interceptions and 2.7 tackles per game.
He also matches the club’s ostensible transfer strategy under Todd Boehly, which looks to be signing young players whose worth will hold or even rise as they mature. If the Blues are successful in completing this transaction, they will have a midfield tandem that has the potential to one day surpass all others in the league and possibly all of Europe. What remains to be seen, though, is if that will actually happen at Stamford Bridge.
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