Chelsea see £55m Moises Caicedo bid rejected by Brighton

Cameron Smith

• 19 Jan 2023 22:35 GMT
• 3 min read

Chelsea have had an opening offer of £55 million for Moises Caicedo rejected by Brighton & Hove Albion, according to David Ornstein.

The Blues made an offer in writing this week, but have seen it turned down by Brighton, who value the player at over £75m and don't wish to sell any key assets this transfer window.

The south coast club have made their stance very clear and remain adamant that Caicedo isn't for sale this month as they look to seal European football for next year. The Seagulls are currently seventh in the table, but can move three points clear in fifth place if they win the two games they have in hand on Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur.

READ: Chelsea ready to let £40M signing leave for FREE

Chelsea are keen to address their issues in central midfield following the failed pursuit of Benfica star Enzo Fernandez and have identified Caicedo as a priority target.

The Ecuador international was handed his Brighton debut by current Chelsea boss Graham Potter and the recruitment staff who first pointed him out to Brighton are now working for Chelsea, which has intensified links of a transfer to Stamford Bridge.

However, Brighton remain firm in their belief that Caicedo is going nowhere.

READ: What will Chelsea do next in January?

Chelsea's January business

Chelsea are in need of a new central midfielder, with Jorginho and N'Golo Kante currently both out of contract this summer. But, their attentions have been elsewhere this window, with the only midfield arrival coming in the form of 18-year-old Brazilian wonderkid Andrey Santos, who is not yet ready to make a mark on the first-team.

The Blues have signed David Datro Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Joao Felix (loan), Mkyhailo Mudryk and Santos so far this January, while they are close to adding PSV Eindhoven winger Noni Madeuke after agreeing a deal with the Eredivisie club.

They are also in the hunt for a new right-back to cover for Reece James, who has suffered several injury issues in recent years.