
Chelsea haven’t given up on signing Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo this January, according to transfer expert Ben Jacobs.
The Blues have already had a £55million offer for the Ecuador international rejected by Brighton.
Jacobs tweeted: “Chelsea haven’t given up on Moises Caicedo. Brighton have had an offer rejected for Leipzig’s Amadou Haidara. If they sign him, there’s a feeling Caicedo could yet leave. Not easy for Brighton since Leipzig don’t want to sell. Clause in Haidara’s contract only allows summer exit.
“Brighton are not seriously quoting £100m. What they are actually saying is Caicedo is not for sale. The figure itself comes from Graham Potter’s own half-joking, half-serious (as Brighton CEO Paul Barber put it) valuation when he was still Brighton boss.
“An offer of £75m+ (or one with a strong structure for less) would still give Brighton a serious decision to make, especially with Caicedo extremely keen on the move. He’s very humble & focused, so will not force a transfer like Wesley Fofana, but he’d love a January move to Chelsea.
“It’s important to also note, £75m is an extremely high number hence why Chelsea came in much lower. The initial fee for Aurélien Tchouaméni was €75m (£66m). Multiple sources have made it clear it is unreasonable for Caicedo to be priced higher than the Real midfielder.
“Ultimately, Brighton can stick to their position of ‘not for sale’ and either refuse to engage or quote astronomical numbers. After all, they ideally don’t want to lose Caicedo mid-season.
“But if they do bring in Haidara (not a given) things could yet change in the final few days of the window. Chelsea absolutely haven’t walked away.”