Chelsea could yet complete a remarkable double transfer this summer as two of their main midfield targets remain in the balance. With a potential five sales in the position, reinforcements are certainly needed and the activity so far has only backed that up.
First Chelsea pushed hard to rival Paris Saint-Germain for the signing of Manuel Ugarte but fell foul to a last minute U-turn and shake up with issues regarding wages and price. Even before that deal football.london believed Moises Caicedo to be of top priority and attempts since then have only strengthened that case.
The Brighton midfielder is expected to leave the club after manager Roberto De Zerbi extended his pardon to the player towards the end of the season. Having signed for less than £5million, no matter what sum the Seagulls receive it will be a massive return on their investment.
The 21-year-old now appears to be edging towards a move to west London after Arsenal dropped out of the race to sign him. The Gunners favour Declan Rice and have signalled their intentions to sign him with a bid worth £90million. That still falls short of the £100million valuation, just to demonstrate the huge sums involved.
Chelsea, who are planning to sell their own players first in a bid to not only shred the squad but also to raise funds and better their financial results, are stuck currently. It has been suggested that the Blues are keen to bid for Rice themselves but are not able to match the offer from Arsenal yet, meanwhile they want to wrap up Caicedo first instead.
It is complex situation to be in less than one full week into the window and could prove to be their downfall as the months go on, however there is room for hope. According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Brighton made a pact with Caicedo between him and De Zerbi back in February.
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After two lodged bids for the Ecuadorian - both swiftly rejected to Arsenal - he signed a new long-term deal and seemingly ended questions over his future. That does not look to be the case, though, with Romano now writing: "Chelsea know well that Caicedo has a pact with de Zerbi since February: in case important proposal arrives, he will leave the club."
With this in mind, the next task is to negotiate with owner Tony Bloom. That itself is much easier said than done as the poker player has a record for driving a tough deal and not relenting. The lifelong fan only last year managed to extract £62million for Marc Cucurella and remained firm on not giving in to £70million offers for Caicedo over the winter.
It has been reported that he is demanding £120million currently, though the Blues could reduce this cash sum with the use of players heading to the south coast. Either way, the lump sum itself is not a fee that will be sanctioned for Caicedo, but it could be effected by Arsenal's business and the other dealings by the Blues.
Just like Shakhtar Donetsk based their price tag for Mykhailo Mudryk off the moves and values placed on Antony and Jack Grealish, Brighton may be looking to dove tail off West Ham. With the Hammers setting out for a big-money offer to sell Rice, and with both players of upmost desire to their suitors, the price of one could be about to dictate the other.
For Chelsea this may well be an advantage, with Arsenal not willing to pay over the odds for Rice. Should they secure an agreement - which would disappointment Chelsea due to their own interest - then it would potentially set the price for Caicedo much lower than the current demand has it.
Whatever happens, Chelsea were never likely to be too far away from two deals with this level of drama.
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