Chelsea have been left with a clear run at signing Moises Caicedo - and could be on to a winning midfield partnership.
Brighton midfielder Caicedo has also been targeted by Arsenal and Manchester United but they are unlikely to rival Chelsea after agreeing deals for Declan Rice and Mason Mount respectively. And former Chelsea winger Florent Malouda believes Caicedo can form an effective double act with Enzo Fernandez if they can get the deal over the line in this window.
Brighton have gained a reputation of playing the transfer market brilliantly and will demand a huge fee for Caicedo considering Arsenal are set to pay £105m for West Ham captain Rice. The South Coast club are bracing themselves for a big-money bid from Chelsea despite having already sold Alexis Mac Allister to Liverpool.
Malouda believes Caicedo could be a big hit at Stamford Bridge if he can form the same understanding with Argentina midfielder Fernandez as he formed with Mac Allister.
Ex-France star Malouda, in an interview with Genting Casino, said: “If you look at the chemistry he developed with Mac Allister, I think that is something that could be replicated alongside Enzo at Chelsea. If they can form a partnership, then it would be a very good signing.
“I’m not sure how well he will cope to adjusting to the pressure of playing for a giant club like Chelsea, which is a totally different and more demanding environment than at Brighton, but he has proved that he is a capable of playing at the level requited in the Premier League.
“Timing will play a part in this deal too. If Chelsea do want to sign him, then I hope they can bring him in before pre-season starts, but we know there will be competition from other clubs to sign him that makes things more complicated.
“I think he has had a couple of good seasons with Brighton and Brighton seem to be the masters of selling their players – they deserve a lot of credit for their recruitment business.”
The fact Chelsea could now be the only bidders in for Caicedo could help stop a bidding war which threatened to develop in January when both the Blues and Arsenal were keen. But incoming Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino will want to stamp his authority on his new squad as he takes charge from this weekend.
Their latest outgoing saw England star Mount agree a move to Old Trafford for £60m but they have yet to offload Hakim Ziyech whose switch to Saudi club Al Nassr could be in jeopardy. Morocco winger Ziyech is unhappy and wants to quit Chelsea after seeing a move to Paris Saint Germain in January collapse on deadline day and he is no longer wanted at Stamford Bridge.
But Chelsea do want to keep England under-21 defender Levi Colwill as they have turned down a £30m bid from Brighton and may even discuss a new contract with the left-sided centre half desperate to play regular first team football.
