Chelsea are reportedly ready to push for the signing of Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo before the end of the week.
The Blues' chase of the Ecuador international has descended into a drawn-out affair, with neither party seemingly being prepared to reach a compromise.
From the perspective of Brighton, they have refused to budge on their £100m valuation of the 21-year-old, maintaining the same stance that they displayed to Arsenal in January.
Head coach Roberto De Zerbi is said to have made a pact with Caicedo at that time, promising him a departure in the summer if he focused on helping Brighton achieve European football, which he did.
Nevertheless, Chelsea have been provided with no encouragement from their Seagulls counterparts thus far having opted against meeting their demands.
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Most recently, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital are said to have presented an £80m bid, a proposal which was immediately rebuffed, and talks have again reached an impasse.
However, according to The Guardian, Chelsea are increasingly confident that they will be able to secure a deal for their priority target by the end of the week.
Brighton are said to remain unmoved on their £100m demands, although Chelsea may look to agree to that valuation if add-ons can be included in the package.
Caicedo has allegedly grown frustrated with the situation, with the player having missed Brighton's final pre-season friendly and spent time away from the training ground.
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Earlier this week, CEO Paul Barber and technical director David Weir acknowledged that Caicedo's head had been turned by the offer on the table from Chelsea.
Although De Zerbi has acknowledged in the past that he has already has a like-for-like alternative to Caicedo in mind, a sale would see Brighton lose a second key man in the engine room following Alexis Mac Allister's transfer to Liverpool.
As for Chelsea, head coach Mauricio Pochettino is eager to suitably strengthen his midfield, with the most senior options being Enzo Fernandez and Conor Gallagher.
On Thursday, it was reported that Chelsea had gone close to meeting the valuation of Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia, who has been heavily linked with Liverpool.
Darren Plant
