Chelsea are willing to spend big on both Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo and Sporting’s Manuel Ugarte, says Fabrizio Romano.
The Blues have spent around £600million across the past two transfer windows and are expected to flex their financial muscle once again this summer.
A new striker is believed to be Mauricio Pochettino’s top priority, even with Romelu Lukaku’s loan at Inter coming to an end.
Scoring goals was Chelsea’s biggest problem in 2022/23, which has turned out to be a season full of problems.
Enzo Fernandez was signed for a British record £107m fee in January, but the club are looking to bring in a new defensive midfielder with the Argentine World Cup winner better used in a box-to-box role.
Sporting’s Manuel Ugarte has been strongly linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in recent weeks, with Chelsea reportedly willing to trigger his £52m release clause.
A report from Portuguese newspaper Record says Chelsea have made a ‘last-ditch effort’ to convince Ugarte to join them after it was revealed their yearly salary offer was worth €3m less than what Paris Saint-Germain have put on the table.
The Blues are boosted by the fact the Uruguayan midfielder wants to come to the Premier League.
One player already in England that Chelsea are interested in signing is Brighton youngster Moises Caicedo.
Despite the fact they are close to signing Ugarte, it is believed that Pochettino’s side are also willing to complete the signing of the 21-year-old Ecuadorian.
According to Fabrizio Romano, they are working on a deal to sign both players.
Arsenal had a £70m bid rejected by Brighton for Caicedo in the winter transfer window, with the Seagulls reluctant to sell the player mid-season.
Caicedo then signed a new contract, mainly so the south coast club could preserve his value and increase his wages to something more reflective of his ability and importance to the team, with a summer transfer a big possibility.
You might need to be reminded that Chelsea have spent around £600m in less than a year, and have an incredibly bloated squad. That is pretty hard to believe given the fact they seem poised to splash out another £200-300m this summer.
There are a lot of sales on the cards at Stamford Bridge, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek expected to join AC Milan, Mason Mount in talks to join Manchester United, and interest growing in Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz.
With 39 first-team players on the books and no European football next season, Pochettino will need to sell or loan at least 12 players in the summer.
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