Brighton & Hove Albion will hold out for their asking price upwards of £100m for Moises Caicedo, i can reveal.
The midfielder is reported to be a key transfer target for new Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Manchester United have also been monitoring the player’s situation, although whether interest is retained after signing Mason Mount last week from Chelsea for a fee potentially rising to £60m remains to be seen.
Caicedo, 21, is one of the of the most highly-rated young midfielders in the world and represents yet another prescient signing by Brighton, who paid only £4m for the player when he joined from Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle in 2021.
Brighton resisted attempts from Arsenal and Chelsea to sign the Ecuadorian in the January transfer window even after the player posted on social media that he was keen to move.
“I am proud to be able to bring in a record transfer fee for Brighton which would allow them to reinvest it and help the club continue to be successful,” Caicedo wrote.
“The fans have taken me into their hearts and they will always be in my heart, so I hope they can understand why I want to take up this magnificent opportunity.”
Instead, Brighton convinced the player to commit to a long-term contract on improved terms, which runs until 2027, with the club retaining the option to extend it for another year.
It places them in an extremely strong negotiating position at a time when Chelsea are said to hope £80m will land them the player. Brighton are expected to hold firm in their position.
Declan Rice’s £105m move from West Ham to Arsenal has set a precedent. Rice, 24, only had two years remaining on his contract with West Ham.
And this time Caicedo has not agitated for a move when speaking publicly on the prospect of a transfer.
“It’s a very great emotion,” he told TV presenter Maria Jose Flores of the interest. “What guy wouldn’t want them to be talking about him?
“I know how to handle it. I don’t get carried away by emotions. I’m enjoying time with my family for now. There is pressure, but I am calm. I am waiting for whatever God decides. He will know what is best for me.”
Brighton, who qualified for the Europa League last season, have brought in more than £130m — a staggering sum — in player sales in the past 12 months alone. Marc Cucurella joined Chelsea for £60m last summer, in the January transfer window Leandro Trossard signed for Arsenal for £21m and Alexis Mac Allister left for Liverpool in a £55m deal last month.
Should Caicedo leave in this window the fee will surpass those and will likely make him one of the most expensive footballers in history.
The £106.8m Chelsea paid for Argentinian World Cup winner Enzo Fernandes from Benfica in the January window is the current British record.
