Moises Caicedo during a pre-match warm-up.
Chelsea are willing to offer Brighton a player on top of a transfer fee to beat Liverpool in the race to sign Moises Caicedo, according to reports. CONTINUE READING>>>>>
Friday has been a hectic day, with Harry Kane’s move to Bayern Munich on, then off, then back on, and Caicedo the subject of £100million+ bids from Chelsea and Liverpool.
The Caicedo saga is one for the ages, with it abundantly clear he prefers a move to Stamford Bridge despite the Reds offering Brighton more than their Premier League rivals.
Brighton reportedly told Chelsea and Liverpool that bidding would close on Thursday evening – with the latter’s £110m offer accepted – but the Blues remain interested given the player’s desire to make the move.
And in a late attempt to leapfrog Jurgen Klopp’s side in the race, Chelsea are looking to offer Brighton players on top of cash for Caicedo, according to The Independent.
The report emphasises Caicedo’s wish to play for the Blues over the Reds and notes that personal terms over a move to Anfield have not been agreed.
Obviously, Brighton want everything ‘resolved quickly’ and in a bid to ‘solve this deadlock’, Chelsea are discussing ‘offering players’, with several first-team stars ‘available’.
Conor Gallagher is the only one who gets a mention here – which is interesting considering the Blues’ lack of depth in midfield.
The England midfielder would be a replacement for Caicedo at the Amex – albeit not a direct one for the No. 6 role – but the report says the Seagulls are ‘usually far more forward-thinking and considered than engaging in swap deals’.
It is also unclear whether or not Brighton are willing to reopen the negotiating process having accepted a bid from Liverpool.
The Reds’ offer was £10m more than what Chelsea put on the table.
Brighton have been standing firm with their £100m valuation of the 21-year-old and will be laughing all the way to the bank knowing Chelsea could have secured the signing weeks ago.
Roberto De Zerbi’s side have a great reputation for recruiting unknown quantities to develop them and sell for a humungous profit, and Caicedo is the best example of this.
Speaking to the media on Friday, De Zerbi insisted Brighton will retain their “soul” despite losing Alexis Mac Allister and potentially Caicedo.
“I’ve already forgotten Moises,” said the Italian. “I’m really proud for the players we have in the squad. We have to complete the squad.
“We want to improve the squad because we lost Mac Allister, we lost (Levi) Colwill (on loan from Chelsea last season), maybe we lose Caicedo.
“We have to be ready because when the players leave it’s because they played well but the credit is for the club, for the players, for us, the coaches.
“The big clubs can buy the players but they can’t buy our soul and our spirit. That’s not on the market and this is more important than the players when they leave.
“The money is not my work, is not my job. I can answer only about the transfer market in general. Moises is leaving and is not important for me now.”
Brighton achieved a club-record sixth-placed finish in the top flight last term to secure European qualification for the first time.
Albion have already recruited goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, defender Igor Julio, midfielders James Milner and Mahmoud Dahoud, and forward Joao Pedro for the upcoming campaign.
Speaking of his squad depth, head coach De Zerbi continued: “We don’t have enough for the start of the season. We have to bring in other players, I don’t know how many.
“I want players who want to come here. We are Brighton, we achieved a big target (last season), what we achieved was the same as Liverpool and better than Chelsea. But it’s history.
“I would like players who are proud to play in Brighton, because we can’t forget or lose the most important thing and that’s our soul and spirit, not the coach or the quality of the player – that is not enough to achieve the big, big target.
“We know very well our policy, and our work is to find other players with other quality, with the same potential and to follow playing like last year and to follow thinking like last year.”
Weekend opponents Luton are back in the top flight for the first time since 1992.
“Tomorrow is one of the most difficult games in this moment for us because for Luton it will be a historic day and we have to fight,” said De Zerbi.
“If we want to win, we have to play like a top team, thinking Luton are a top team.
“The first game in the Premier League, the motivation, the emotion, the spirit is very important.” CONTINUE READING>>>>>
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