Chelsea 'open talks' for massive signing of Man Utd midfield target despite Mason Mount roadblock (original) (raw)

Fabrizio Romano has confirmed Chelsea will open talks imminently to sign a midfielder coincidentally targeted by Man Utd as an alternative for their own Mason Mount.

Mount has been linked with a move away from Chelsea this summer, rather than entering the final year of his contract. His preferred destination would be Man Utd, who have made him their top midfield target.

However, it has been hard for the two Premier League rivals to compromise on Mount’s value. Chelsea have turned down a third bid from Man Utd worth up to £55m.

According to The Times, though, Man Utd have no intention of bidding any higher for a player in the final year of his contract. Although they are expecting record revenues this year, they still need to be mindful of Financial Fair Play and Premier League profit and sustainability regulations.

Thus, their £55m offer – which remains on the table – is a case of take it or leave it.

If the Mount deal falls through, recent reports have suggested Man Utd would turn to Moises Caicedo as their next target in midfield. Although actually more expensive than Mount, it may be a more reasonable deal because he is still under a long-term contract at Brighton and is younger.

However, Romano has now revealed that Chelsea are all set to launch their own attempt to sign Caicedo, despite there being a lack of progress in offloading the more attack-minded Mount.

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Caicedo to Chelsea talks due within 48 hours

Via his Twitter account, Romano has claimed that ‘Chelsea are set to open talks with Brighton’ for Caicedo within the next 24-48 hours. Indeed, the Blues are ‘prepared to attack the deal’, according to the popular reporter.

That said, negotiations with Brighton will neither be ‘easy’ nor ‘fast’. But Chelsea are willing to get the wheels in motion regardless.

They already know that, as Romano reflects, personal terms would not be a problem with Caicedo, even though he would be sacrificing the involvement in European football that he earned with Brighton.

Chelsea tried to sign Caicedo in January, as did their London rivals Arsenal, but Brighton held firm by rejecting their bids and eventually extended his contract until 2027 with the option of an extra year.

TEAMtalk understands there is no release clause in Caicedo’s new contract, which strengthens Brighton’s hand in negotiations.

They already got a good deal from Chelsea when selling Marc Cucurella to the Blues last summer. Several staff members have also moved from the South Coast to West London in recent months.

Now, the two clubs are ready for a new round of talks about Caicedo.

The 21-year-old has made 53 appearances for Brighton since joining them, including 43 in the season just gone.

Caicedo was in the Premier League’s top 10 most frequent passers in 2022-23, and made the second most tackles of anyone in the competition.

Chelsea need to reinvest in their midfield after offloading N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic, as well as agreeing an exit for Ruben Loftus-Cheek, on top of still being at risk of losing Mount.

Mount played 35 times for Chelsea in the most recent season and has 195 appearances for the club to his name in total.