Moises Caicedo has not been included in the Brighton squad for Sunday’s friendly fixture with Rayo Vallecano as the midfielder pushes for a move to Chelsea.
Caicedo has been subject of two rejected bids from the west Londoners, the second of which is understood to have been worth around £80m.
Brighton are insistent that Chelsea will need to increase their offer to sign the 21-year-old and value Caicedo at closer to £100m, with the Seagulls using Declan Rice’s £105m move from West Ham to Arsenal as a benchmark for their valuation.
Fabrizio Romano is reporting that Caicedo has sent a ‘clear message’ to Brighton that he wants to leave the club and the Ecuadorian spoke publicly on his desire to sign for Chelsea earlier in the window.
Negotiations are ongoing but have so far failed to find a breakthrough, despite the two teams reaching an agreement on the transfer of goalkeeper Robert Sanchez from Brighton to Stamford Bridge.
Meanwhile, Brighton are closing in on a deal to sign Mohammed Kudus from Ajax with the club having agreed a £35m fee for the Ghana international.
