Todd Boehly has learned whether Chelsea have been successful or not in their mission to sign Moises Caicedo. The 21-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to the Blues following the appointment of his former boss Graham Potter at Stamford Bridge.
Caicedo, who sees his deal at the Amex Stadium expire in 2025, has featured 20 times for the Seagulls this season, directly contributing towards two goals. His impressive displays have attracted the attention of several top sides, including the west Londoners.
Chelsea are said to be in the market for a midfielder this month amid the increasingly uncertain futures of N'Golo Kante and Jorginho, who both see their contracts expire in the summer. The former has endured an injury-ridden campaign while the latter has struggled for form, so Caicedo has been identified as a potential solution to Chelsea's problem.
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The Blues appear keen to wrap up a deal before the end of the month despite having already welcomed David Datro Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Andrey Santos and Mykhailo Mudryk to the club. According to The Athletic, Chelsea have seen an offer for the Ecuador international rejected.
The report states that the bid was worth £55million, which is considerably less than Brighton's valuation. The Athletic add that the Seagulls have no interest in letting Caicedo leave in January despite the midfielder having already admitted that he's open to joining the west Londoners.
Speaking to Ole ahead of the World Cup, as quoted by the Evening Standard, he said: "It made me very sad now that he left for Chelsea because he helped me a lot and I wanted to continue having him as a manager, but that’s football.
"Right now I’m very focused on Brighton and the World Cup. I want to have a great World Cup and then we’ll see what happens.
"I think they are one of the best teams in the world and nobody would turn down an offer from Chelsea or any other club like that. It’d be a dream to be in the best teams in the world and succeed there."
Before Chelsea had reportedly tabled a £55million bid, Brighton chief executive Paul Barber gave his verdict on Caicedo's price tag. Speaking to Jacobs, he said: "I'm not sure £42million will even include the boots now, maybe just the laces.
"But joking aside, every player's value is ultimately determined by the market. Graham's (Potter) comments were part in jest but part serious because Moises has been an exceptional player for us.
"Since he came to the Premier League, he has developed all the time. He's a young man with a great attitude, fantastic work ethic and a very nice human being off the pitch. So all those things contribute to the value of a footballer should it come to that moment to sell."
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