Brighton U-TURN on Chelsea's Caicedo transfer

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 21 Jul 2023 21:28 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea's hopes of signing Moises Caicedo from Brighton this summer have suffered another blow with Seagulls manager Roberto De Zerbi saying he is planning with the Ecuadorean midfielder next season.

Caicedo and Chelsea reportedly agreed personal terms in June, but the clubs remain far apart on a transfer fee, with Brighton wanting at least £100 million for their Ecuadorean star having seen Declan Rice - another defensive midfielder - move to Arsenal from West Ham for £105m recently.

Chelsea's latest bid was more than £70m up front, with more to follow in add-ons - some way short of the Seagulls' valuation.

READ: How Chelsea would line up with Moises Caicedo

Brighton rejected a similar bid from Arsenal during last winter's transfer window, and they appear more than willing to walk away from negotiations once again.

"I didn't give my word for anything," De Zerbi said when pressed on the issue ahead of Brighton's meeting with Chelsea in Pennsylvania on Sunday. "At the moment, I haven't received news that Caicedo can leave tomorrow or in the next week."

Levi Colwill in the mix?

Levi Colwill spent last season on loan at Brighton from Chelsea, and the England under-21 centre-back could be used as a makeweight in any Caicedo deal according to some reports. De Zerbi is having none of that, though.

READ: Colwill still WANTS Brighton transfer as Chelsea talks commence

"Colwill included in the deal? I'd like to play with Colwill and Caicedo together," he said emphatically.

"It's not for me to talk about [Caicedo's] price. My job is to coach. The price is for our owner and our CEO. They'll decide the right price."

Caicedo is only valued at €35.6m by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm - no mean fee - but Rice's transfer looks to have distorted the market for defensive midfielders.

Brighton have already sold Alexis Mac Allister to Liverpool this summer, and Caicedo also leaving might effectively git their midfield. Over to you, Chelsea.