Chelsea have one potential way to convince Brighton to sell Moises Caicedo, but it could come at quite a cost. Not just in monetary terms either.
The Seagulls have already knocked back a £55million bid which fell well below their £75m valuation of the midfielder before Arsenal signalled their intention, still lowballing with a £60million offer. Brighton have themselves made it clear that they have no wishes to sell the player this month, especially not with three days left of the window and no replacement yet lined up.
Central midfield is the one remaining area for Chelsea to invest in this window having already signed six players, four of which are attackers, adding depth at centre-back and fullback with a deal agreed for Malo Gusto too. Midfield is arguably the most pressing area though having not signed a permanent player in that area of the pitch since 2018.
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With a battle to sign Caicedo ongoing Chelsea will be looking for every marginal gain they can make in order to make themselves more attractive to the 21-year-old, who has signalled his own desires in a statement on social media. He is also set to miss training ahead of the FA Cup clash against Liverpool.
Brighton are still holding strong to keep hold of their man though with head coach Roberto De Zerbi saying: "He [Caicedo] is a good guy. He is focused on Brighton."
The former Shakhtar boss added: "I hope he can stay with us until the end of the season. In my opinion that is the best solution for us. I can understand other big teams want Caicedo, Mac Allister, Mitoma, and March.
"I spoke with him on Wednesday and I told him my opinion. It is always difficult to change during the season. For our way, it is important for him to stay a few more months.
"He is relaxed. I spoke with him like a father, not a coach. I understand when one player has the possibility to change to a very big team. But my work is to give the style of play but also advice for his career and his life."
Chelsea do still have the financial power to offer £75million for Caicedo but may have another trick up their sleeve in order to not only lower the price but also to incentivise the deal. The Blues have been working with their south coast counterparts a lot in recent years over the transfers of Tariq Lamptey and Billy Gilmour before Marc Cucurella, Graham Potter, Bruno Saltor, Kyle Macaulay and Paul Winstanley all went the other way to Stamford Bridge.
Also on that list is 19-year-old defender Levi Colwill. The Blues loanee is one of the best young centre-backs in Europe and is extremely highly rated by the club but he has had to be patient this season, only coming into the team under De Zerbi consistently after the World Cup break.
He had been impressing at the Amex Stadium before injury disrupted things and he is now on the sidelines. Speaking about Colwill, De Zerbi said: "I am sorry for him because for us the left centre-back is very important. Lewis Dunk is a top player but he is on the right and we lose some line passes from the left."
He also added that he was keen to spend more time with England youth international, adding: "I am very happy with Levi's progress. I hope he can stay with us in the future because he has the potential to become a great player and he is very important for us."
Colwill's loan is up at the end of the season and Chelsea plan to integrate him into the squad for next campaign. If they wanted to complete a move for Caicedo though, they could offer up Colwill going the other way to sweeten the deal, much like they had tried with Cucurella in the summer.
Although Colwill himself is arguably of more value to Chelsea, especially in the long-term, it's the sort of innovative move that Todd Boehly has tried in his time so far as owner.
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