Chelsea to push for Premier League star's signing after pulling the plug on Manuel Ugarte deal - Reports

Chelsea are reportedly set to turn their attention to Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo after missing out on Sporting's Manuel Ugarte. The Brighton star has also attracted interest from Arsenal, who were linked with him in the January window as well.

As per transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea will continue to track Caicedo irrespective of the outcome of their Ugarte pursuit. They want the Ecuador international signed this summer after failing to sign him in January.

He tweeted:

“Regardless of how this Ugarte saga will finish with PSG having a ‘match point’ and Chelsea out of the race, as of now… keep an eye again on Moisés Caicedo. Chelsea wanted him in January then well informed since May — Caicedo’s always been in the list with Ugarte.”

Journalist Graeme Bailey has claimed that Brighton & Hove Albion will demand at least £80 million for the midfielder. He said on the Talking Transfers podcast:

“I think £80m, if it gets above £80m I’m told that is the figure that they’re probably looking at. Caicedo, we know he wanted to leave in January and I think someone might pay that for Caicedo in the summer, especially with West Ham pushing for over £100m for Declan Rice.”

Arsenal are also in the running for the midfielder after having their bids rejected in January.

Arsenal and Chelsea target 'treated badly' by Brighton fans

Moises Caicedo handed in a transfer request in the January window to push for a move away from Brighton. Chelsea and Arsenal had launched bids for the player but the Seagulls were adamant about not selling him.

The Ecuadorian stayed put at the club for the remainder of the season but claimed that people treated him badly for trying to force the move away. He told The Telegraph:

"I was really close to going. I suffered a lot. I'm sure I'm going to have many more opportunities. That's why I continue to do things well. [But] it was tough. At the beginning when I didn't end up going, lots of people would make fun of me on Instagram. People treated me badly. I didn't check my social media because it would hurt me to see things."

Liverpool have also been linked with Caicedo by Fabrizio Romano. However, the Reds are close to signing Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton instead, as per Times.