Brighton & Hove Albion will demand over £100 million for midfielder Moises Caicedo, according to the Telegraph.
The Ecuadorian is a target for Chelsea, and the Seagulls want a figure close to the £105m Arsenal will pay for Declan Rice.
Both men are defensive midfielders, and Caicedo is three years younger than Rice. Brighton will factor these factors into their demands.
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino is keen on Caicedo as part of his midfield rebuild, but he won’t come cheap.
It will mean Chelsea must stump up another nine-figure sum to secure his services.
The Blues paid a British transfer record €106m to sign Enzo Fernandez from Benfica in January.
They may have to pay around the same sum to get him the ideal midfield partner, having allowed N’Golo Kante, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mateo Kovacic to leave this summer.
Chelsea have needed a holding midfielder for years but are ready to address the problem after two previous coaches complained. Pochettino has made the same demand.
Brighton reportedly rejected two offers from Arsenal in January. The second was worth around £70m. He signed a new deal until 2027 with an option to extend for another.
The Seagulls want to secure a massive profit on Caicedo, who joined them from Independiente del Valle for only £4m.
Brighton have made massive profits selling Marc Cucurella (£56m) and Alexis Mac Allister (£35m) and could do the same with Caicedo.
Chelsea have taken Cucurella, transfer chief Paul Winstanley and manager Graham Potter from Brighton. Caicedo could be the next to move to Stamford Bridge.
