Moises Caicedo has admitted he "can't say no" to a club like Chelsea as the Blues continue talks with Brighton over a possible deal to sign the midfielder.
Chelsea are trying to sign the 21-year-old as Mauricio Pochettino looks to bolster his midfield options ahead of the new season. Caicedo has been identified as the club's priority signing this summer but they need to try and find an agreement with Brighton, who are tough negotiators at the best of times.
football.london understands Caicedo and Chelsea have agreed on personal terms verbally, although nothing has been signed yet. Talks with Brighton have intensified over the past week or so, with Chelsea's Paul Winstanley understood to be a big part of negotiations with his former club.
Now, Caicedo, speaking to Maria Jose Flores, who works for TCTELEVISION, has confirmed he does indeed want to join Chelsea. He said: "It's a big team, that's true.
"A very historic team and I can't say no because it's a very big, historic, beautiful team. The city as well is beautiful."
The Blues will continue their efforts to sign Caicedo in the coming days but it does look like a transfer saga that could take its time this summer. There's a feeling Brighton will accept around £80million for their midfielder.
READ MORE: Chelsea news and transfers LIVE: All of the latest updates coming out of Stamford Bridge
Caicedo told Roberto De Zerbi after interest in his services over the January transfer window that he would stay at the Amex Stadium as long as he could explore his options in the summer. Brighton will allow Caicedo to leave but it has to be on their terms.
Meanwhile, there has been plenty of business in terms of outgoings already completed at Stamford Bridge.
Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, N'Golo Kante, Cesar Azpilicueta, Baba Rahman and Datro Fofana have all left already, accumulating a total of more than £200million in player sales for the club. Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech, Romelu Lukaku and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are also set to be offloaded.
