Manchester City making their move for West Ham star Declan Rice could heavily impact Chelsea's pursuit of Moises Caicedo. football.london understands Pep Guardiola's side are preparing an opening bid for the Hammers' captain following Ilkay Gundogan's decision to not sign a new contract and instead join Barcelona on a free transfer.
The Gunners' main target is Rice, but a fresh threat from Man City could see the player change his stance and prioritise a move to Etihad Stadium. If that were to happen, with Mikel Arteta in desperate need of new midfielders, attention could turn swiftly back towards Caicedo.
Two bids were sent to Brighton by Arsenal for Caicedo in January with both turned down. Summer interest was initially there at Emirates Stadium, but focus was primarily on Rice which saw any chance of a double swoop dwindle. However, potentially losing out on Rice would give Arsenal more funds and an opportunity to snatch Caicedo from Chelsea.
Earlier this month, a £60million offer was put forward by Chelsea but very quickly rejected. Todd Boehly's main job for the early stages of the window has been to seal exits and he has certainly been successful in making headway on that with five marquee names set to leave for fees.
The bulk of the funds arrives with the sale of Kai Havertz to Arsenal for £65million, while Mateo Kovacic will sign for Man City after a £30million bid was accepted. Kalidou Koulibaly, Hakim Ziyech and Edouard Mendy also all look set to leave and join N'Golo Kante in Saudi Arabia.
Once those exits have been confirmed, an official approach is expected by Chelsea, and following the news of City's Rice decision they must move quickly.
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In an ideal world for Chelsea, Rice would join Caicedo at Stamford Bridge next season. But realistically, Mauricio Pochettino would prefer Rice moving to Arsenal over Man City as it will likely confirm his free run at Caicedo.
The 24-year-old accepting terms sent by Man City could then result in Caicedo becoming at the centre of a battle where Arsenal could enact their Mykhailo Mudryk revenge. The 21-year-old wants to play at the top level and if it came down to a choice between Arsenal and Chelsea, the former is currently the far more attractive option.
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