Chelsea have been one of the most active Premier League sides during the first two weeks of the summer transfer window.
The Blues saw a £60million bid for Brighton star Moises Caicedo turned down earlier this month and there is an expectation that a second proposal will soon be made too. The main focus currently though, is getting players off the books.
A heavily bloated squad and crucial June 30 FFP deadline have meant that N'Golo Kante, Hakim Ziyech, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy have all accepted offers to play for various Saudi Arabian clubs, joining former Real Madrid duo Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo in the division. Other players on their way out of west London are Kai Havertz and Mateo Kovacic.
Havertz has reached a full £65million agreement to sign for Mikel Arteta's Arsenal, whilst Kovacic is signing for Premier League champions Manchester City in a £30million deal. According to Sky Sports, Chelsea are currently preparing another offer for the aforementioned Caicedo once those sales are fully wrapped up.
However, The Times have now claimed that the Blues have told Brighton that they will not be meeting the Seagulls' asking price of more than £80million for the Ecuadorian international. Roberto De Zerbi's side have been known for refusing to sell on the cheap in recent times.
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In fact, they were unwilling to allow the 21-year-old to leave during the January transfer window despite Arsenal bidding as high as £70million for the tough-tackling midfielder. During an interview with The Beautiful Game podcast, Brighton CEO Barber joked that the Gunners' offer was only enough to sign half of the player.
When asked about the north Londoners' offer, Barber responded: "Only if they wanted half the player! I mean, joking aide, we never provide the numbers.
"It always amuses us when we see numbers in the media, because they’ve not come from us.”
Who would you keep or sell at Chelsea this summer...?
