Brighton are ready to cash-in on Moises Caicedo – but want an eye-watering £85million for him.
Chelsea and Newcastle have targeted the 20-year-old Ecuador midfield enforcer. Toon sporting director Dan Ashworth, Brighton ’s former technical director, oversaw Caicedo’s £4million move to the Amex Stadium from his native country in 2021.
Chelsea boss Graham Potter was the Seagulls’ coach at the time, and is also plotting a reunion. The Blues took Spain left-back Marc Cucurella, 24, from Brighton for around £60m in a summer deal before Potter replaced Thomas Tuchel.
Liverpool and Manchester United are likely to enter the race for Caicedo – who Newcastle see as an alternative to Youri Tielemans, set to be out of contract at Leicester next summer.
Arsenal are understood to be in pole position to land Tielemans then, after reports that Juventus ’s interest in the Belgium star has cooled.
Speaking about his future in September, however, the Caicedo stated he was happy at the club. "I’m very happy here at Brighton," he said. "I’m not thinking about any other club than Brighton. This is the club where I am now and I will give everything for this club and to keep doing well here."
United, in particular, have something of a history with the 20-year-old. The club were pursuing a move for the midfielder ahead of the January 2021 transfer window but backed out a month before.
According to the Manchester Evening News, negotiations became a 'clusterf***' and United ultimately pulled the plug on the transfer. That led to Brighton swooping in on deadline day. That decision has already twice come back to haunt United with Caicedo dominating in Brighton's 4-0 drubbing last term and 2-1 win this season.
And it's a deal South American football expert Tim Vickery reckons United will now live to regret. “Man Utd could have had him first and really for a song. They thought the deal was too complex, I think,” he told Give Me Sport. “But, for the amount of money, it was worth taking a chance on him and I think they’ve lived to regret that since. That’s the direction that he’s certainly going in because I think any club can do with a midfielder with those all-round characteristics.”
