Chelsea's hopes of signing Moises Caicedo from Brighton appear to have stalled, with the Seagulls setting a whopping £100m price tag for the midfielder.
Caicedo is new boss Mauricio Pochettino's top midfield transfer target as he looks to strengthen his squad following the departures of Mateo Kovacic to Manchester City, N'Golo Kante to Saudi side Al-Ittihad, Mason Mount to Manchester United and Ruben Loftus-Cheek to AC Milan.
Brighton are willing to sell Caicedo this summer, having had their attempts in January rejected out of hand, with manager Roberto de Zerbi admitting he expects the Ecuadorian to leave. Speaking after Brighton's final game of the season against Aston Villa, De Zerbi said: "I think it can be the last game for Alexis [Mac Allister] and Moises.
"I am really sorry because they are two great people and two great players but the policy of Brighton is like this. It is right that they can leave, they can play at higher level." Mac Allister has since joined Liverpool, while Chelsea hope to sign Caicedo.
According to the Guardian, the Blues hope they can convince Brighton to part ways with the 21-year-old for a fee of around £80m. However, Brighton are holding out for at least £100m as they believe the 'benchmark has been set by Declan Rice ’s impending £105m move from West Ham to Arsenal'.
The report also states that the fact Chelsea signed Enzo Fernandez for £105m in January has factored into Brighton's stance as well and that talks between the two clubs have slowed as a result. It adds that Caicedo does want to make the switch to Stamford Bridge and that Chelsea hope they can reach a compromise.
Caicedo has impressed since making the move to Brighton in 2021 and De Zerbi believes the midfielder's potential "has no limit". Speaking last October, he said: "Caicedo is a top player with and without the ball.
"There are many players in the world who are very good with the ball but without it in defensive spaces are not so good. Others in the defensive space are top but with the ball, there are some problems. With Caicedo, I don't see anything not at the top level.
"And he is only [21], he is very young, so he can learn and improve more. He has no limit." Meanwhile, Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta became the latest player to depart Stamford Bridge, confirming his move to Atletico Madrid on a free transfer in an emotional farewell video.
"It is difficult to express with words what I feel," he said. "It has been incredible and just thank you, to everyone. This is my home and I hope to see everybody back here one day."
