Chelsea’s perfect Premier League alternative as Caicedo signs new Brighton deal

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 4 Mar 2023 10:13 GMT
• 4 min read

Chelsea may be forced to reassess their summer transfer plans following the news that Moises Caicedo has committed himself to Brighton by signing a new deal until 2027.

The Ecuador international put himself very much in the shop window in January as he pushed to leave the club for Arsenal, while Chelsea were also heavily involved in the transfer race for him.

It was expected that Graham Potter’s side might revisit the Brighton player in the summer, with the Blues having the ambition to sign at least one central midfielder – and potentially two.

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Caicedo’s name coming off the market will pose them problems, particularly with West Ham’s Declan Rice favouring Arsenal and Jude Bellingham of Borussia Dortmund favouring other destinations.

There is one little-discussed option who would fit the Blues’ perfectly as an alternatively to Caicedo.

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Jacob Ramsey ideal for Chelsea

Aston Villa’s Jacob Ramsey fits the bill perfectly as a transfer target for the Blues, according to data analytics experts SciSports.

We know that Chelsea want to buy young players with plenty of potential, meaning they are unlikely to move for anyone much older than 21.

Furthermore, their interest in Caicedo shows that they want a player who is excellent defensively.

SciSports show that Ramsey is a similar player in terms of his style to the Brighton star but crucially has a slightly higher ceiling. While the Ecuador international has a potential of 121.6, Ramsey’s is reckoned to be 123.4. Indeed, their data even points to the Englishman being the stronger player of the two right now.

One of the big advantages that Ramsey holds is that he boasts Premier League experience, limiting the scope for a transfer misstep and, hopefully, meaning his adaption would be quick.

What about other alternatives?

Well, it depends how much Chelsea are willing to sacrifice defensively. Ramsey, like Caicedo, is in the top third of Premier League players in terms of prevention, pressing and defensive positioning.

Changing the parameters to simply being in the top half of their respective leagues in the Ecuadorian’s three key strength areas throws up some other possibilities, including Ryan Gravenberch of Bayern Munich, who has the potential to be even better than Frenkie de Jong, and Manu Kone of Borussia Monchengladback, who FootballTransfers understands is a Liverpool target.