It is no secret that new Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino is looking for reinforcements this summer, and 21-year-old midfielder Moisés Caicedo from fellow English Premier League team Brighton & Hove Albion and the Ecuador national team tops the Blues’ shopping list. After enduring an awful 2022/2023 Season, the West London club has decided to embark on a drastic rebuild process and is currently having a busy transfer window, with notable names such as Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Mateo Kovačić, N’Golo Kanté, Hakim Ziyech, Édouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, etc. all leaving the five-time Premier League winner during the start of this transfer window.
Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea Interested in Caicedo
Born in Santo Domingo, Ecuador, Caicedo is a highly-rated midfielder despite his tender age. Since moving away from Ecuadorian Serie A’s C.S.D. Independiente del Valle and joining Premier League Brighton & Hove Albion, the 21-year-old Caicedo made a total of 53 appearances and scored a couple of goals in all competitions for Seagulls, making him an important figure in the Roberto De Zerbi’s squad that finished sixth in last season’s Premier League.
At international level, Caicedo made his senior debut at the young age of 18 back in 2020, and quickly saw himself promoted to a regular figure in the Ecuador national team’s starting line-up for competitive matches. Besides, among the 3 goals he had scored in his 32 caps for his country, the last came against Senegal in the recent 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. These attributes and credentials quickly caught the eye of fellow major clubs in the English league, with the Red Devils, Gunners and Blues all battling out against each other to win Caicedo’s signature this summer transfer window.
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Brighton Wants £100 Million for Caicedo
Nevertheless, a priced young talent like Moisés Caicedo will not be allowed to leave the club unless a decent proposal is being placed on the table, and Brighton has made it clear that the 21-year-old Ecuadorian midfielder will cost his next club at least £100 million this window. Such a lucrative price tag has already scared away both Manchester United and Arsenal since they have already splashed huge amount of moolah on midfield reinforcements respectively (Mount to Red Devils while Declan Rice and Havertz to Gunners, etc.), meaning Chelsea will be left with almost no contenders in the transfer market, if it wishes to bring Caicedo to Stamford Bridge for the 2023/2024 Season.
In regard to this matter, sources have confirmed that direct talks have already been initiated between both English Premier League clubs in recent weeks, and the player himself had publicly given his views on the possible transfer and his thoughts on Chelsea Football Club.
Caicedo: “Chelsea Is a Very Big, Historic, Beautiful Team.”
The 21-year-old Santo Domingo-born football player once told TC Deportes’ journalist Maria Jose Flores that Chelsea is a “Big, historic and beautiful team” in a “Beautiful city that has everything beautiful”. He also iterated that he will find it hard to say “No” should an opportunity arise for him to wear the famous blue jersey.
Nonetheless, the humble Caicedo will decide what works best for himself and his family for the future, saying that “I know how to handle it. I don’t get carried away by emotions. I’m enjoying time with my family for now. There is pressure, but I am calm. I am waiting for whatever God decides. He will know what is best for me” amidst Chelsea’s transfer rumours about him.
🚨 Chelsea’s talks with Brighton over a transfer for Moises Caicedo is now progressing. £70m won’t be enough but discussions are continuing to find a solution.
(Source: @FabrizioRomano ) pic.twitter.com/JQX4HfY5N1
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) July 12, 2023
Lukaku Wants Permanent Chelsea Exit
Apart from the ongoing discussion with Brighton for Caicedo, Chelsea is also in negotiations with Italian Serie A’s Inter Milan for the outgoing transfer of Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku. The 30-year-old Antwerp-born forward played 44 times and scored 15 times for Chelsea since rejoining the club for a then-club record fee of £97.5 million back in the 2021/2022 Season, before being sent to ex-club I Nerazzurri on loan in the following season.
Both Chelsea and Lukaku have mutually agreed to the player’s permanent transfer to the Italian outfit, and the former wants matters to be resolved before its pre-season plans begin. The London club is set to accept a £40-million bid from Inter for the Belgian forward, who is not involved in the Blues’ pre-season training, and head coach Pochettino will be actively looking for new attacking options for his squad this summer.
With many incoming and outgoing transfers happening in Chelsea, how good do you think Chelsea will be in the 2023/2024 Season? Give us your bold predictions for the Top 6 finishes in the English Premier League next season down in the comment section below!
