Has Boehly learned NOTHING? Chelsea would be mad to match Brighton's Caicedo demands

James Shearman

• Updated: 16 Jun 2023 17:14 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea are reportedly closing in on a deal for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo in the summer transfer window.

Caicedo had been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in January, before the Blues turned their attention to Enzo Fernandez.

As a result, Arsenal became more likely to sign the Ecuador international, bidding £70 million.

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But Brighton were adamant on keeping one of their star players for the remainder of the 2022-23 season as they pushed for European qualification.

However, Seagulls boss Roberto De Zerbi is said to have agreed to let Caicedo leave this summer.

The Gunners were once again interested in his services this month, with FootballTransfers exclusively reporting that they had been quoted between £70-80m.

Although, Arsenal have since shifted their focus to West Ham captain Declan Rice and Chelsea's Kai Havertz, paving the way for their London rivals to swoop in.

Chelsea would be mad to match Brighton's Caicedo demands

The Athletic are reporting that Brighton are asking Chelsea for a fee of at least £100m for Caicedo.

This comes weeks after our exclusive that they wanted up to £80m from Arsenal.

This indicates that Brighton are either not pleased about selling to Chelsea, likely due to them poaching Graham Potter and a number of staff midway through the season.

Or, the Seagulls believe that Blues owner Todd Boehly will pay over the odds for their top transfer target.

This would be a fair assumption, given that Chelsea paid around £60m for Cucurella last summer, and have since spent extortionate amounts on Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk.

As such, Boehly needs to have learned from his mistakes and refuse to pay more than £80m in the ongoing Caicedo negotiations.