Chelsea and Arsenal are set to fight over the signing of Brighton talent Moises Caicedo this summer. The two London clubs both had offers for the 21-year-old rejected by the Seagulls during the January transfer window.
Caicedo is said to have been made Chelsea’s "number one priority" for the summer transfer window. Mauricio Pochettino wants to sign a new central midfielder ahead of next season, as football.london reported last month, but more reinforcements may be required with Mateo Kovacic likely to leave the club.
Manchester City are pursuing a deal to sign the Croatia international as he enters the final 12 months of his contract, with the Blues said to have placed a £35million asking price. N'Golo Kante is facing an uncertain future at Stamford Bridge with his contract set to expire at the end of June - as talks over a contract extension have stalled.
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According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are looking to sign Caicedo and Manuel Ugarte this summer. The latter has a £52million release clause in his contract at Sporting CP with Todd Boehly holding talks over a potential move to Stamford Bridge.
football.london understands that West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice is Arteta's priority for the summer window as the north Londoners look to strenthen their options in the centre of the park, with Caicedo also one name on the club's shortlist of options. Brighton are reportedly now resigned to losing the Ecuadorian who is valued between £70million-£80million.
When asked if Caicedo and Mac Allister were going to leave Brighton, manager Roberto De Zerbi replied: "I didn’t say it like this. I said it could be a possibility to lose some big players like Caicedo, Mac Allister and Mitoma.
"We are Brighton and I know the policy of our club, my club. We have to be ready to bring other good players with the right characteristic, the right condition of our club."
A report from The Guardian states that the Blues could hold a key advantage over the Gunners when it comes to negotiating a deal for Caicedo. Chelsea may be willing to offer Levi Colwill a return to the Amex Stadium on loan for a second season after the young defender enjoyed an impressive spell with De Zerbi's side in the 2022/23 campaign.
Pochettino is planning for Colwill to be a part of Chelsea's first team next season - but with plenty of options at centre-back already, it may be wise to allow the youngster to leave on loan once again and continue his development. The player's stance on another loan move away from Stamford Bridge is still unclear, but a return to Brighton may be of interest to Colwill who is attracting interest from Liverpool and Manchester City.
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