- 8 hours ago
Romano KNOWS why Caicedo’s Chelsea transfer has stalled
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 23 Jun 2023 08:31 BST
- 2 min read
Chelsea remain interested in Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo, but the Stamford Bridge club have not taken significant steps towards signing the Ecuador international star.
The Blues took the lead over Arsenal for the 21-year-old several days ago, but since ousting their Premier League rivals from negotiations have struggled to kick on with negotiations for a summer transfer.
Indeed, Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Mauricio Pochettino’s side remain in virtually the same position with the Caicedo deal as they did last week.
Terms with the players are virtually agreed, the transfer specialist says, and Caicedo has no intention of moving anywhere but Chelsea, who FootballTransfers exclusively revealed are offering him and his agent significantly more money than they might have got at Arsenal.
Why no Caicedo progress?
Romano says that the reason that Chelsea have made little further progress towards signing Caicedo is because they have been busy dealing with so many outgoing transfers.
The Blues are seeking to trim their squad before pre-season begins but they are also working to raise funds to ensure that they do not fall foul over Financial Fair Play (FFP).
Several players are close to leaving the club, with Kai Havertz and Mateo Kovacic set to depart for Arsenal and Manchester City respectively in transfer deals that will raise the club upwards of £100 million – the type of fee that Brighton are demanding for Caicedo.
On top of this, Todd Boehly’s side are also destined to send a string of players to the Saudi Pro League, with Chelsea set to take advantage of the club’s close ties with the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) to offload some of their deadwood, such as Hakim Ziyech, Edouard Mendy and Kalodou Koulibaly.
Once these transfers are completed, Chelsea will step up their negotiations with Brighton over Caicedo, which promise to fierce as the Seagulls attempt to defend their interests over a player they have already promised can leave this summer.
