Brighton CEO Paul Barber has insisted the club will “understand” Moises Caicedo’s position on his future at the club amid transfer talks with Chelsea.
The Blues have seen three bids for Ecuador international Caicedo rejected, with the latest £80million proposal falling short of Brighton’s £100m price tag on the 21-year-old.
The player missed training on Monday in a bid to force through his exit having been denied a move to Arsenal in January.
Seagulls chief Barber is adamant that the club will be “realistic” in dealing with Chelsea’s interest but expects him to feature for his club in the new season nonetheless.
He told Sky Sports: “For a young player like Moises at 21, he’s probably one of the best midfield players in the world already at his age, and we’ve had a fantastic time working with him.
“And we want it to continue, we’ve got him under a long contract.
“We’re also realistic to know there is interest in him. As a young man, that interest is inevitably going to have an impact on your thought process and unsettle you a little bit. We understand that.
“But for now, he’s a Brighton player, he’s under contract. We expect him to work hard, prepare for the new season and we’ll see what happens as the window goes on.”
Caicedo sat out the weekend friendly against Rayo Vallecano due to a minor hamstring injury and Barber refused to confirm whether or not he would be in the squad for Saturday’s Premier League kick-off against Luton.
He added: “The window’s got a long way to go, we’d love to keep him. He’s a really important player, we’ll see where we are.”
