This Ben Jacobs Chelsea column was exclusively published on SPTC on Monday 6th August.
Chelsea will make another push for Moises Caicedo this week having seen their last £80m offer rejected.
Believe it or not, Chelsea and Brighton still have a good relationship. Tactically, now is the time for Chelsea to move because Brighton won’t want uncertainty or drama heading into the new season. And then, a bit like with Enzo, if there is no breakthrough I can see Chelsea taking a final shot in the last days or hours of the window. They will hope it won’t come to this, though.
Caicedo missed Sunday’s friendly with Rayo Vallecano due to a minor hamstring strain – at least that was Brighton’s official position. CEO Paul Barber confirmed this on-record. But counter-claims on the Caicedo side made it clear he didn’t want to play in the game, wasn’t injured and wants the move to Chelsea.
The situation reminds me a bit of the Wesley Fofana transfer. Leicester went from ‘not for sale’, to demanding a world-record fee for a defender, to eventually selling for closer to £70m. And a big part of this was Fofana making it crystal clear he didn’t want to play for Leicester.
There is usually very little point in keeping hold of a player who doesn’t want to be at a club. Brighton insist Chelsea are significantly off their valuation – and it’s been intimated for months that they’ll hold out for £100m. So now the ball is in Chelsea’s court, who will hope the player position and closeness to the season causes a drop in valuation.
A new offer, exceeding £80m but perhaps not by £20m, stands a real chance. And as I have said many times, if Chelsea do go close to, or even north of, £100m, the add-ons won’t be as gettable. As a result, the structure is now as important as the number. £100m means nothing (optics-aside) if £20m is tough to get. And £80-85m guaranteed with strong payment terms is quite a strong bid even if the overall total is lower.
So there’s likely quite a bit of flexibility now on all sides. And given the length of talks to date, there will be some consensus over the fixed fee ballpark. Chelsea’s last rejected bid was £75+5m and it now just depends how quickly and desperately Chelsea want it done. Brighton still feel they may just eventually pay what it takes, which is why they have stuck to their position all summer.
Chelsea have never to date walked away from Caciedo. He is their top summer target. However, Mauricio Pochettino would gladly welcome in two midfielders in his position. That’s why Chelsea are also exploring Tyler Adams. The Leeds midfielder has a relegation release clause making a deal a bit simpler. Aston Villa are one of several other Premier League clubs considering a bid.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Leandro Paredes is another option and would bring in much-needed experience. And Romeo Lavia has been on Chelsea’s radar as well. Liverpool are favourites because Lavia has indicated he prefers a move to Anfield. No one has agreed a fee with Southampton at the time of writing. That may change this week.
Chelsea will be in for a frantic August. They are also tracking attacking midfielders to fill the void left by Mason Mount. Celta Vigo’s Gabri Veiga, Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise and Ajax’s Mohammed Kudus are all possibilities. Chelsea would need to move really fast with Kudus, though, because Brighton are getting close to completing that deal having had a €40m offer accepted.
Outgoings are also ongoing. Lewis Hall looks set for a loan spell at Crystal Palace. Angelo Gabriel is going to be sent to Chelsea’s sister-club Strasbourg on loan. Leicester want Cesare Casadei on-loan and Bashir Humphreys will be sent out for minutes, too. Coventry and Middlesbrough are two clubs who have enquired this summer. Humphreys was one of Chelsea’s top performers in pre-season and the club are keen to offer him a new deal first.
Mauricio Pochettino was clear in America that he’d sit with the sporting directors when back in London and then make final decisions on loan deals (as opposed to doing it on tour), as well as any players who are surplus to requirements. Trevoh Chalobah is still a very possible outgoing falling into the latter category.
Chelsea also hope to finally resolve the future of Romelu Lukaku. There is still no clarity over a proposed swap deal with Juventus for Dusan Vlahovic. From what I hear, not everyone (Pochettino included) at Chelsea is convinced despite the Serbian being a long-standing target.
This is partly because Nicolas Jackson was so impressive during pre-season and Armando Broja is coming back from injury. Adding an experienced striker would push Broja further down the pecking order and even though he signed a long-term deal last summer, perhaps leave him reconsidering at his Chelsea future. West Ham still retain an interest having tried for Broja a year ago.
Pochettino wants a squad size of 25 or even less, so there are still some difficult decisions to be made. Outgoings remain the priority.
Chelsea can now focus on Liverpool on Sunday. It’s a real chance to get a statement win. Chelsea managed just one victory against last season’s top 10 finishers (Aston Villa). And they played out two drab 0-0 draws with Liverpool last campaign. So if they can get three points at Stamford Bridge, and score a few goals, it will set the tone for the entire season.
Ben Jacobs
I find that the new manager is just what Chelsea needed
A small young squad
last season was terrible players who left was not
interested in playing for Chelsea
Also please mr owner let the manager chose what players he wants
I like the way they play
Nice report
A ‘real’ chance? Well, better than the last three efforts, I suppose.
If that real chance is based on Caicedo’s tantrum, like the one he had in January, then he’ll not ruffle Bloom’s feathers one bit.
The Yank will cough up at the last minute underscoring just how out of depth he is.
The price is £100m+
Nothing has changed so why do the various Chelsea media keep regurgitating the idea that the next below the value bid will finally work?
I hope Tony Bloom tells Chelsea to stop wasting everybody’s time.