Chelsea's ongoing midfield transfer saga must reach a conclusion soon with just seven days left of the January transfer window. In between signing six new players, the Blues have pushed to sign Benfica star Enzo Fernandez before swiftly turning their attention to Brighton's Moises Caicedo.
At the beginning of the window, Chelsea looked on the brink of signing Fernandez from Benfica by paying his £106million release clause, but that never materialised. Instead, the Portuguese outfit grew tired of attempts from west London to sign Fernandez that were not close to their own valuation which was the release clause in full or no deal.
Caicedo then became of interest to Chelsea with a £55million bid being sent to the Seagulls for the Ecuador international's services, but that was swiftly rejected with Brighton demanding a fee in the region of £70-75million.
READ MORE: Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool handed fresh Moises Caicedo transfer stance amid January interest
Among the major central midfield decision, Chelsea are pushing to sign Lyon right-back Malo Gusto as the ideal backup option to Reece James. The 19-year-old is said to be on his way to London and football.london understands that personal terms have been agreed between the Blues and the teenager.
With Gusto possibly looking likely to be acquisition number seven of the winter window, Caicedo or Fernandez could be number eight, although the latest update on the possibility for the latter indicates nothing has significantly changed since the first enquiry from Stamford Bridge.
Writing in his CaughtOffside column, Fabrizio Romano said: “At the moment, what I’m told is that Benfica are still in the same position: €120m (£106m) or nothing. Let’s see if Chelsea will try again, there are no direct negotiations yet."
Meanwhile, Romano also offered an update on Caicedo: “Caicedo has new agents now and so Arsenal and Liverpool are also informed on the situation," he said. "Of course, Chelsea have been pushing for weeks and so they remain keen on signing Caicedo. The big issue is Brighton; they want to keep the player.”
The 21-year-old has now given his perspective on the transfer interest in him to Brighton's official website. "I am here, I’m playing every day. Things from outside don’t trouble me, nor does it take that focus away because I’m focused only on here," he said. "I handle [the speculation] well.
"You hear rumours here and there, but I only try to be focused on the club where I am now, the club which opened the doors for me to be playing every week."
Perhaps Brighton's stance on a January departure for Caicedo and his own words could indicate a deal this month can be ruled out. With the Evening Standard reporting that Chelsea will re-open Fernandez talks this month while a move for Caicedo could potentially be revisited at the end of the season.
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