Chelsea make £65m bid to sign 21-year-old, his club understand if he wants to leave – journalist

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Journalist Ben Jacobs has claimed that Chelsea have made a £65m bid to sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton.

The Blues have enjoyed a busy winter transfer window after what has been an underwhelming start to the season. They currently sit 10^th after a dismal first half of the campaign under both Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter.

Their big-name additions have been centred around the attack. The Blues have recently brought in Mykhailo Mudryk in a stunning deal, after he looked set for a move to Arsenal.

The Ukranian followed the likes of Joao Felix on loan, whilst Benoit Badiashile has already impressed the manager on his debut for the club.

Chelsea have already pushed to add to their midfield ranks this month too. They tried to sign Enzo Fernandez from Benfica in the first few days of the new year.

However, it emerged that they had fallen way short of what the Portuguese side were holding out for.

Reports then claimed that they had moved on to prioritising a deal to sign Caicedo from Brighton.

Chelsea make first bid for Caicedo

Jacobs has now added that the Blues have made their first bid to sign the Ecuadorian this month.

He said: “Brighton now want £75m+ for Moises Caicedo in January. Their CEO Paul Barber tells me the club “understand” if Caicedo wants a move but won’t sell in January unless their valuation is met.

“Chelsea have an excellent relationship with Brighton and have tested the water around £65m.”

The Blues have certainly been busy regarding business involving the Seagulls this season.

They signed Marc Cucurella before the season began, before raiding them of their manager after Thomas Tuchel was sacked.

With a potential midfield exodus awaiting the club at the end of the season, an addition of a player the quality of Caicedo seems like a necessity to keep them competing.