Chelsea remain in pole position to land Brighton's Moises Caicedo as a deal edges closer to completion.
Will Chelsea sign Caicedo?
Chelsea's current focus may be on selling players, but the Blues are still very interested in strengthening their team this summer, with Brighton's Moises Caicedo top of their transfer shortlist.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, journalist Fabrizio Romano confirmed that Chelsea are still extremely interested in the midfielder, with a potential deal moving in the right direction.
"Chelsea, as I told you guys many, many times, are really close to complete agreement on the personal terms. This is 95% done, it's just about the final details, but Caicedo says yes to Chelsea," Romano assured.
He continued: "So Chelsea, at the moment, while I'm speaking, remain in control of Caicedo situation. In advanced talks – more than advanced – with the player and prepare to bid with Brighton."
"So, this is the situation. Chelsea feel they are in control, but, of course, we know very well that in the transfer market you have to close deals".
Romano insists that Chelsea are prioritising offloading players before they look at signing £100m-rated Caicedo, citing the Blues' "big deal" with Saudi Arabia for Edouard Mendy, Hakim Ziyech and Kalidou Koulibaly, as well as potentially Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Callum Hudson-Odoi, as what is taking up most of Chelsea's time right now.
He added that Chelsea are also looking to finalise moves out of Stamford Bridge for Mateo Kovacic, Kai Havertz and Mason Mount to Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United respectively.
New boss Mauricio Pochettino already has his first new arrival in the form of £52m Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig, albeit the deal was agreed long before he arrived at Chelsea.
Why is Caicedo in demand?
While seen as a more combative defensive midfielder, Caicedo has many strings to his bow.
Following a Premier League campaign in which he made 37 appearances for Brighton, helping them to a Europa League finish, it is easy to see why the Ecuadorian is in such high demand.
He rarely loses the ball in the centre of the park, sitting in the top 6% of Premier League midfielders last campaign for pass accuracy (88.5%). He also sits in the top 10% for short passes completed (92.5%), the top 15% for medium passes (90.5%) and the top 5% for long passes (79.2%).
His defensive statistics are also mightily impressive with an average of 4.47 combined tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes, the majority of which come in the middle and defensive third. He is a great shield for a defence and also has the intensity and power to press higher up the pitch and recover the ball closer to the opposition goal.
Despite only being 5ft 10, Caicedo won 64.9% of his aerial duels, featuring in the top 7% among league midfielders and, averaging 7.11 ball recoveries a game, consistently showcases his strong physicality in and out of possession.
At just 21-years-old, the sky is could well be the limit for the South American gem.
