Boost for Man Utd as Chelsea refuse to pay £80m for Caicedo

Chelsea have reportedly told Brighton they will not pay more than £80 million ($102m) for Manchester United-linked Moises Caicedo.

 Chelsea had a £55m ($70m) bid for Brighton midfielder Caicedo rejected in January and according to David Ornstein of The Athletic, an improved £60m ($76m) offer was turned down in June. Now, The Times claims the Blues will not fork out more than £80m for the 21-year-old this summer after signing Villarreal forward Nicolas Jackson on an eight-year deal for £30m ($38m).

If the Stamford Bridge side are not prepared to bid close to £100m ($127m) for the Ecuadorian international, that may open the door to Manchester United trying to sign the former Independiente del Valle star. Sky Sports states the Red Devils may turn their attention to Caicedo, whose contract at the Amex expires in 2027, after their £55m bid for Chelsea's Mason Mount was rejected.

 Brighton signed Caicedo from Independiente for a paltry £4.5m in February 2021, a matter of weeks after United had the chance to sign the then 19-year-old for a similar price. If the former Beerschot loanee, who was a transfer target for Arsenal in January, is sold this summer, the Seagulls will make a huge profit on their star player.

Caicedo registered more successful tackles (58), interceptions (65), and blocks (43) than any other Brighton player last season and he also created 43 chances and registered the second-most progressive passes (219). He also had the second-most tackles in the Premier League behind Fulham's Joao Palhinha.

 Caicedo is currently enjoying a summer break after playing in friendlies for Ecuador against Bolivia and Costa Rica. He is scheduled to report back for pre-season in July.