Chelsea’s £70m bid for Moises Caicedo has been “rejected out of hand” by Brighton.
One source has told Sky Sports News that Brighton value Caicedo, who was signed from Ecuadorian club Independiente del Valle for £4.5m in 2021, in the same bracket as Arsenal’s record-signing Declan Rice and will look to get in the region of £100m for him.
Chelsea are considering whether to go back in with another offer with talks ongoing between the two clubs for the midfielder.
Sky Sports News has been told Chelsea will be “disciplined” and have interests in other players.
It is thought Chelsea are getting encouragement that the 21-year-old would join them if a deal can be agreed between the clubs, with personal terms not expected to be a problem.
Chelsea were interested in signing the Ecuador international in January, while Arsenal had two bids rejected. Caicedo ended up signing a new deal with Brighton once the winter transfer window had closed.
Chelsea face Brighton in the USA Summer Series on July 22 in Philadelphia.
Analysis: From tearful teen to in-demand star
In the wake of his country’s World Cup exit last year, when other players were jetting off to high-end holiday resorts, Moises Caicedo was back in Santa Domingo, Ecuador, playing in a local tournament on the same dusty pitch he used as a boy.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sky Sports’ Nick Wright and Ron Walker take a deep dive into the story of Moises Caicedo and look at how he became of the Premier League’s most exciting young players
In footage which went viral in the country, Caicedo, a rising star in the Premier League who had just become Ecuador’s youngest scorer at a World Cup, can be seen finding the net again, only this time as a ringer for Caicedos FC, a team made up of extended family members.
His goal, slotted in at the near post in ramshackle surroundings, helped Caicedos FC win the tournament and was celebrated with a leap, a fist pump, and a gesture of recognition to the few hundred spectators sitting or leaning on fences around the pitch.
“This is Moises,” Miguel Angel Ramirez, Caicedo’s former coach at his boyhood club Independiente del Valle, tells Sky Sports with a smile. “Going back to his village, to his family, his friends, playing football, helping everyone there. He doesn’t forget his people…”
Follow the summer transfer window with Sky Sports
Who will be on the move this summer when the transfer window opens on June 14 and closes at 11pm on September 1 in England and midnight in Scotland?
Keep up to date with all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports’ digital platforms. You can also catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News.
