With Declan Rice headed to Arsenal and Mason Mount moving to Manchester United, the most logical destination for Moises Caicedo is obviously Chelsea. So with the midfielder merry-go-round in full effect, the Ecuadorian international should end up in west London.
After all the summer transfer window is all about fit, and that means everybody finding their respective dance partner.
Here’s the problem however, Brighton & Hove Albion are looking to get least £100m for their star man, and Chelsea are hoping that they’ll only have to spend about £80m. That’s according to a report in The Guardian today.
Brighton have a lot of reasons to believe Chelsea will Stamford Bridge that 20 million GBP gap. With Rice set to break the transfer fee record for a British born player (£105m), the Seagulls see that as an indication of where the market is right now.
After all, Caicedo has been linked to both Chelsea and Arsenal for several months already. Not to mention Todd Boehly’s club badly need to buy a midfielder, or two, this summer.
Chelsea have seen four players at the position (including the aforementioned Mount) already leave the side this window.
And finally, and perhaps most importantly, Chelsea have very deep pockets. Yes, they’re trying to balance the books, in order to meet FFP regulations, but they did break the transfer record for most spent on one player by a British club.
That came in the January window of all places, when they acquired midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for £106.8m.
Not to mention that Brighton also let their other star man/prized asset Alexis Mac Allister go for under market value.
Liverpool paid just £35 million ($43.62 million) for him, and thus, you can see why Brighton are playing hardball in negotiations right now.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.