With just over three weeks to go until the start of the 2023/24 Premier League season, Brighton and Hove Albion are still managing to keep Moises Caicedo from the clutches of English top-flight rivals, Chelsea.
It’s abundantly clear that the west Londoners want to sign the tough tackling 21-year-old, but if they don’t up their offer for him significantly, there’s every chance that the Seagulls will hold onto one of their star players.
To this point no proposed fee from Chelsea has been acceptable, and even a £70m+ offer that the Blues will apparently make shortly according to the Evening Standard isn’t likely to see Brighton budge.
The south coast side are in the enviable position where they don’t need to sell players, and with Roberto De Zerbi at the helm they’re a club that’s really going places.
They certainly can’t be blamed for playing hard ball when it comes to a transfer fee, given that they let Alexis Mac Allister go for a bargain price to Liverpool.
With Chelsea known to not be short of a bob or two, it’s understandable that Brighton are seemingly intent on holding out for £100m for a player with a huge projection in the game.
Apparently using Declan Rice’s fee to Arsenal as a benchmark, Brighton are still playing a bit of a dangerous game as Caicedo has clearly stated his intention to move.
However, if nothing else the club are showing they’re not going to be pushed around or bullied by a so-called ‘bigger’ club – which is an odd statement when you consider where the clubs finished last season.