Chelsea to step up efforts to sign Brighton star Moises Caicedo, but Seagulls want more than £80m

Chelsea are ready to return with a bid for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo as they offload Kai Havertz to Arsenal plus Hakim Ziyech, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy to Saudi Arabia for a combined fee of around £107m. 

Mail Sport reported earlier this week how the Blues were planning to step up talks for Caicedo after a £60million offer was rejected two weeks ago, with the Seagulls seeking more than £80million for their star man.

A move for the Ecuadorian midfielder comes after N’Golo Kante completed his move to Al-Ittihad, while Mateo Kovacic is closing in on an exit to Manchester City and Mason Mount is expected to join Manchester United this summer.

Mail Sport previously revealed that Chelsea were trying to secure the signing of Caicedo in a deal worth in excess of £80million.

The Blues are looking to partner him with club-record signing Enzo Fernandez ahead of next season.

Chelsea are ready to return with a bid for Brighton and Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo

The Blues had a £60m offer rejected for Caicedo earlier this month, but they are keen to partner him with club record signing Enzo Fernandez in midfield for next season

Their planned bid comes as they are set to rake in £107m from the sales of Edouard Mendy (left), Kai Havertz (right), Hakim Ziyech and Kalidou Koulibaly

Mail Sport also reported earlier in June that Chelsea – who were also keen on Caicedo in January and had a £55m bid rejected – were going back in for the 21-year-old after PSG beat them to signature of Manuel Ugarte.

Mauricio Pochettino is yet to start his job as Chelsea head coach but will have already discussed potential incomings ahead of the new season.

Meanwhile, the club are looking to offload Kai Havertz to Arsenal plus Hakim Ziyech, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy to Saudi Arabia for a combined fee of around £107m – providing a significant transfer war chest fpr the move for Caicedo.

Mail Sport reported on Wednesday how Arsenal had agreed a £65m deal for Havertz, with Mikel Arteta seeing the German as a left-sided No 8.

Mauricio Pochettino has plenty of work to do as he aims to rebuild Chelsea after a dismal year

The move for Caicedo also comes as several Chelsea midfielders such as N’Golo Kante (left), Mateo Kovacic (right) and Mason Mount are expected to depart this summer

Pochettino – who is also expected to have Villarreal forward Nicolas Jackson as part of his squad after an impending £30m move is completed – has plenty of work to do when he begins his role on July 1.

Despite spending more than £600m on 18 players across the summer and winter transfer windows last season, the Blues finished in the bottom half of the table for the first time since the 1995-96 season. 

Chelsea also confirmed the £53m signing of Christopher Nkunku this week – although the move has been long-awaited given an agreement was reached back in December.

They will begin the 2023-24 campaign on August 13 with a home game against Liverpool.