Chelsea are ready to step up their pursuit of Moises Caicedo and ‘attack’ a deal for the Brighton midfielder, after agreeing the sale of Mason Mount to Manchester United.
Chelsea reached an agreement with Manchester United over the sale of Mount on Thursday and will now focus on midfield replacements and the club’s pursuit of Caicedo.
Fabrizio Romano is reporting that the west Londoners are ready to ‘attack’ a deal to sign Caicedo as the club look to improve the squad ahead of Mauricio Pochettino’s first season in charge.
Chelsea saw an approach for Caicedo turned down during the January transfer window, but are ready to re-open negotiations with Brighton over a deal for the Ecuador international.
Arsenal and Manchester United had been linked with rivalling Chelsea’s interest in the midfielder, but the former are closing in on West Ham’s Declan Rice and the latter are focused on alternative targets.
Brighton are willing to allow Caicedo to leave should a suitable offer arrive, but value the 21-year-old in excess of £80m. Personal terms are not expected to be an issue with Caicedo keen on the move to Chelsea.
The Blues have already recouped more than £100m in sales this summer following the exits of Kai Havertz, Mateo Kovacic, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy, with Mount now set to hold talks with Manchester United over finalising a £60m move to Old Trafford.