Chelsea now ‘expected to move’ for £70m star at Stamford Bridge | OneFootball

Chelsea are now expected to step up their interest in Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo following their failed pursuit of Manuel Ugarte, journalist Dean Jones has told GIVEMESPORT.

Jones, however, has claimed that the interest from the Chelsea camp for Caicedo has been ever-present, even throughout the whole Ugarte saga.

Chelsea are expected to ramp up their interest in Brighton’s ground-eating midfielder since their deal for Manuel Ugarte was hijacked by Paris Saint-Germain.

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However, according to Teradeportes (via The Daily Mirror), Caicedo and Chelsea’s rivals, Arsenal, have agreed personal terms amid speculation of a move away.

That report does, however, state that Chelsea will better their cross-town rivals in terms of wages, with new boss Mauricio Pochettino hopeful of persuading the youngster to choose Stamford Bridge.

Caicedo came closer to becoming a Gunner back in the January market, but Brighton rejected multiple £70m bids. He has since revealed to The Telegraph that it was ‘tough’ and that he ‘suffered a lot’ following the failed move.

However, just two months later, the sought-after player signed a new deal with Brighton that would keep him under contract until 2027, according to BBC Sport.

To add to this, Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano previously told GIVEMESPORT that Arsenal have held talks with representatives of the Ecuadorian international, though Romano did mention a deal won’t be easy due to the high levels of interest.

Alexis Mac Allister’s high-profile move to the red half of Merseyside may convince Caicedo to join his ex-teammate at the six-time Champions League winners, though the two London clubs appear to be the front-runners for his services.

What has Dean Jones said about Moises Caicedo and Chelsea?

Speaking exclusively to GIVEMESPORT, Jones said: “I don’t think it’s even a case of getting back of the Caicedo trail, they’ve already been on it. The whole time the Ugarte thing has been going on, Caicedo is still the one I’ve been hearing more about. I’ve always expected that Chelsea would go for Caicedo.”

Would Caicedo be a good signing for Chelsea?

As Chelsea look to embark on their new era under Pochettino, signing another midfielder to partner alongside Enzo Fernandez will certainly be high on the club's agenda.

Especially with N’Golo Kante’s situation, which looks no closer to being resolved, bringing in Caicedo would be wise.

The addition of the 21-year-old to Chelsea’s centre of the park would allow the likes of Fernandez more freedom to progress further upfield.

Defensively, his numbers are very impressive as, on average, he completes 2.87 tackles and 1.61 interceptions per 90, according to Fbref. The same site states he boasts an 88.5% pass completion rate and is within the top 15% of his positional peers for attempted passes per 90.

The 30-cap Ecuadorian, according to WhoScored, has boasted an average 6.92 match rating this season, while playing the club’s third-highest amount of minutes across 34 games.

If Chelsea’s midfield reinforcement was to be Caicedo, you’d have to say they’d have a world-beater on their hands.