Chelsea stands firm as Brighton demands £100m for Moisés Caicedo

Chelsea is determined to hold their ground in the ongoing negotiations for the acquisition of Moisés Caicedo, as Brighton insists on a minimum fee of £100m for the talented midfielder. 

Caicedo is the primary target for Chelsea as they seek to bolster their midfield under the guidance of manager Mauricio Pochettino. While Chelsea believes that an offer of approximately £80m would suffice to secure the services of the Ecuadorian international, Brighton is pointing to Declan Rice's imminent £105m transfer from West Ham to Arsenal as a benchmark.

Rice is on the verge of becoming the most expensive British player, and Chelsea themselves shattered the British transfer record in January when they signed Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernández from Benfica for £106.8m. These figures have not gone unnoticed by Brighton, and it is understood that the club's high demands have slowed down negotiations with Chelsea over Caicedo throughout the week.

Brighton, who have already lost midfielder Alexis Mac Allister to Liverpool, is determined to drive a hard bargain. The club had rejected bids from both Arsenal and Chelsea for Caicedo in January, and the 21-year-old midfielder has since signed a contract until 2027, with an option for an additional year. The positive aspect for Pochettino is that Caicedo himself desires a move to Stamford Bridge.

With the departures of N'Golo Kanté, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount, and Mateo Kovacic, and the sale of Jorginho to Arsenal in January, Chelsea is in dire need of reinforcements in midfield. Talks are scheduled for next week to explore the possibility of signing Celta Vigo midfielder Gabri Veiga, who has a buyout clause of £34.4m. Veiga is being pursued by several top clubs including Liverpool, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and Manchester City.

Chelsea is determined not to succumb to overpaying for Caicedo and is cautious about repeating past experiences of challenging negotiations with Brighton. Over the past year, the two clubs have engaged in extensive dealings, starting with Brighton's Marc Cucurella's move to Chelsea for £62m. Subsequently, Chelsea recruited Brighton's head coach Graham Potter in September, and their co-sporting director Paul Winstanley also joined from the club.

Winstanley, a key figure in Chelsea's transfer activities, is a familiar face to Brighton's negotiators. The objective will be to find a compromise regarding Caicedo, although Chelsea remains adamant about not including Levi Colwill as part of any potential deal. Colwill spent the previous season on loan at Brighton, who had a £30m bid rejected. Instead, Chelsea intends to offer the promising 20-year-old center-back a new long-term contract.

As Stamford Bridge undergoes a rebuilding process, César Azpilicueta has become the latest long-serving player to leave the club. The 33-year-old defender, who joined Chelsea in 2012, has departed on a free transfer and signed a one-year deal with Atlético Madrid. Additionally, Chelsea is currently engaged in talks to sell Christian Pulisic to Milan, with the Italian club displaying increasing interest in signing the talented American winger. Furthermore, Chelsea hopes that Al-Nassr will reignite their pursuit of Hakim Ziyech.