Brighton has rejected a second offer from Chelsea worth £70 million for midfielder Moises Caicedo.
Mauricio Pochettino seeks to bolster Chelsea’s midfield options following the departures of Mateo Kovacic to Manchester City and N’Golo Kante to Al Ittihad. Chelsea’s initial offer of £60 million was denied last month, but the club returned with a higher offer.
Although their most recent offer was rejected, Chelsea is anticipated to continue pursuing Calcedo, who Brighton values at £100 million.
Caicedo, 21, has joined Brighton in the United States for their preseason tour, and the club is in a strong negotiating position due to the fact that he signed a new contract in March that extends through the 2026-27 season.
In January, Brighton rejected proposals from Arsenal and Chelsea for Caicedo. Mikel Arteta’s side subsequently turned their focus to Declan Rice and competed with West Ham for the England international in a deal worth up to £105 million.
Brighton considers this transfer to be a benchmark, as they believe Caicedo is at a similar level.
Wesley Fofana underwent ACL reconstruction surgery after sustaining an injury shortly before the team was scheduled to depart for their preseason tour of the United States.
The club said in a statement, “The 22-year-old did not travel to the United States for the club’s preseason tour due to specialist medical evaluations that confirmed he would require surgery.”
“Wesley will now begin his recovery and will work with the club’s medical department at Cobham during his rehabilitation phase.”
