Roberto De Zerbi says Chelsea are not meeting the conditions to sign Moises Caicedo and that offering Levi Colwill could unlock a deal.
Chelsea have seen multiple bids rising to £70million rejected over the last few weeks for the 21-year-old midfielder
They have so far failed to convince Brighton owner Tony Bloom to sell the Ecuador international who they value at around £100m.
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De Zerbi outlined Brighton’s stance amid interest from Chelsea, who they face in the first Premier League Summer Series match in Philadelphia.
He said: “At the moment Moises is a Brighton player. I spoke with Tony Bloom and he told me if the conditions don’t change, Moises stays with us.
“For me it should be great news because it is difficult to find another player like Moises.”
De Zerbi also denied there is a verbal agreement to let his midfielder for a certain price, adding: “It is not true. I am coach, not owner, I’m not a sporting director. I’m only a coach. Believe me, it is difficult to be a coach.”
As Chelsea chase Caicedo, Brighton are interested in Blues defender Levi Colwill following his succesful loan period last season, though he is currently regarded as not for sale by the west Londoners.
Brighton have already had a £30m bid rejected and De Zerbi, remarkably, proposed a swap deal during his press conference.
He continued: “There are two questions. Not only about Caicedo, also about Colwill, and maybe it can be [a swap].
“I would like to play with Caicedo and Colwill together but at the moment I can only speak about Caicedo as Colwill is not one of my players.”
