Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo has acknowledged that he wants to sign for Chelsea this summer.
Over the past 18 months, Caicedo has established himself as one of Brighton's key players, initially after a loan stint with Beerschot Wilrijk.
However, the Ecuador international's performances for the Seagulls during 2022-23 contributed to the club finishing in sixth place in the Premier League table, subsequently securing Europa League football.
Nevertheless, it is an open secret that the 21-year-old wants to take any opportunity to sign for a bigger club, having already failed to force a transfer to Arsenal in January.
With the Gunners now out of the race to sign Caicedo, Chelsea are attempting to negotiate terms with their Brighton counterparts as soon as possible.
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What Chelsea are willing to pay and Brighton open to recouping is unclear, a number of reports suggesting anywhere between £80m and £100m for a player who only penned a new contract earlier this year.
Although it appears that an impasse has been reached, Brighton head coach Roberto De Zerbi reportedly has a pact with Caicedo that he can leave the Amex Stadium for the right price.
That has seemingly led to Caicedo being happy to publicly speak about his future, with the player stating that he would not be able to reject a move to Stamford Bridge.
Speaking to TC Deportes journalist Maria Jose Flores, Caicedo said: "It's a big team, that's true.
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"A very historic team which I can't say no [to joining] because it's a very big, historic, beautiful team. The city as well is beautiful. It's got everything beautiful."
Should Caicedo earn a transfer to Chelsea, he would likely slot in next to Enzo Fernandez with Chelsea having already parted ways with a selection of midfielders this summer.
As well as Fernandez, only Conor Gallagher and Carney Chukwuemeka earned minutes in the centre of the pitch for the Blues last season, although their ranks has since been boosted by Italian and Brazilian prospects Cesare Casadei and Andrey Santos.
From Brighton's perspective, it has been claimed that they are prepared to play hardball over a fee with Chelsea unwilling to consider any offers for their former star loanee Levi Colwill, who is now viewed as a candidate to start for Chelsea under Mauricio Pochettino.
Darren Plant
