Chelsea have already found themselves tangled in the first transfer saga of the summer and window is yet to officially open. Those that have followed the club over the past two seasons won't be surprised.
In 2021 it was Jules Kounde that occupied many with consistent back and forth between the Blues and Sevilla before the deal collapsed late on. Their last-ditch signing of Saul Niguez was similarly exhaustive as it went deep into the hours of deadline day.
Last summer was Frenkie de Jong, a saga case study for the ages with multiple teams, too many parties and conflicting interests at play. Kounde was involved as well and ended 12 months of flirting with a move to London by joining Barcelona instead.
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Raphinha's U-turn to join the Catalan giants was similarly frustrating, as was Matthijs de Ligt's future and the contract of Ousmane Dembele. Chelsea don't do things simply and any hope of this window being different have been eroded already.
Enzo Fernandez occupied minds and rumbled on throughout January and the next trip to Portugal has proved to be just as long-winded. In Manuel Ugarte, Chelsea seemingly thought that they had found their answer to the defensive midfield problem plaguing managers since Antonio Conte sold Nemanja Matic in 2017.
It all appeared wrapped up but yet another twist, this time involving Paris Saint-Germain, means that Moises Caicedo is the new priority. The Ecuadorian warmed everyone up for a saga of his own in the winter as he made a social media plea to leave, was banished from training temporarily and then signed a new long-term deal.
Heading into the summer that contract looks set to be cut four years short. Chelsea and Arsenal in the mix to sign him and Brighton are resigned to selling. "I think it can be the last game for Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo at Brighton," Roberto De Zerbi said at the end of the season.
"I am really sorry because they are two great players but the policy of Brighton is like this. It is right that they can leave, to play at higher level."
Enter Chelsea. They now have Caicedo in their sights but a grand price of over £100m ($124m) being demanded for his services is steep. As the Seagulls have shown previously, they are determined to squeeze out every last penny from their business dealings and barred Arsenal from further talks in January after low-ball bids for the player.
At that price, Chelsea would be paying nearly double what they had already agreed with PSG for Ugarte. They do still have a mountain of players to sell and a cash injection set to come but not all of that is to immediately spend straight away. They do have a way to make the deal for Caicedo sweeter, though.
In Levi Colwill Chelsea hold a player deeply admired by Brighton. A £30m ($37m) bid was rejected for the 20-year-old last week after his loan spell on the south coast ended, it was a long way from the value at which he is held but did prove the regard in which Brighton also see him.
With two years left on his contract and the option for a third to be triggered after a certain number of games, there is no rush here. Pochettino is said to be a big advocate for Colwill and the club see him as part of their future. He is one of the top defenders in his age group worldwide.
However, Brighton are tough negotiator and Tony Bloom is no fool. Colwill was included in early talks to bring Marc Cucurella to SW6 last summer before a loan was agreed. A £20m ($24.8m) price was on the doors at that stage. Chelsea know just how much Colwill is worth and it's arguable that he is much closer to the price demanded for Caicedo than he is to the offer made last week.
It would be a brave, unexpected and likely wholly unpopular choice to even debate using Colwill in any attempt to secure Caicedo, but the option is there if the club are backed into a corner and that keen on adding the midfielder to their ranks.
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