Brighton & Hove Albion have turned down Chelsea’s latest bid of £80 million for midfielder Moises Caicedo, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Caicedo has emerged as Chelsea’s prime target in midfield as they look to shore up their options after parting ways with N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek this summer.
The two clubs have been in negotiations over the last couple of weeks but an agreement is not close to being reached largely due to Chelsea’s stance over the sale of Levi Colwill.
The 20-year-old impressed on loan at the Amex Stadium last season, and Brighton are looking to sign him on a permanent deal, but Chelsea are not open to letting him leave.
Brighton have slapped a hefty price tag of £100m on Caicedo just six months after he was the subject of a failed transfer attempt from Arsenal in January.
Despite having a third offer for Caicedo rejected, Chelsea are not giving up on their pursuit of the Ecuadorian, who is viewed as the ideal midfield partner for Enzo Fernandez.
In a summer which has seen them raise north of £200m from player sales, Chelsea have brought in just two players much to the frustration of manager Mauricio Pochettino.
The west Londoners will hope to have concluded further additions before kicking off their 2023/24 Premier League campaign with a mouth-watering clash against Liverpool on August 13.
Off the back of victories and Wrexham and Brighton, Chelsea saw their 100% pre-season record come to an end courtesy of a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United.
They will be aiming to get back to winning ways in Sunday’s game against Fulham.
