Manchester United are ‘prepared to go higher’ than their bid for Mason Mount to land Moises Caicedo from Brighton, though there’s doubt over their ‘true intentions’.
United have made three bids for Mount already this summer but Chelsea have rejected all three so far.
Their latest offer was worth a reported £55m but it has been claimed that the Stamford Bridge outfit are holding out for as much as £65m, a figure which the Red Devils claim includes ‘United tax’.
Reports claimed United had walked away from the deal last week but according to the Daily Mail, discussions have reopened with a view to trying to find a compromise between United’s third bid and the Blues’ asking price of £65m.
Sources at Chelsea are said to believe the deal will not drag on indefinitely and will come to a head with a decisive decision next week.
But The Athletic report that United remain adamant that ‘they will not go higher than £55million for Mount and will end communication if Chelsea show no movement’.
To that end United have started sniffing around Caicedo, who was the subject of two bids from Arsenal in January before signing a new deal with the Seagulls, and is thought to be Chelsea’s top midfield target this summer.
It’s claimed United ‘have contacted Moises Caicedo’s representatives and suggested they would be prepared to go higher than Mount on a fee because the Ecuadorian is three years younger’.
But ‘connected individuals severely doubt United’s chances of getting him, or even their true intentions’ due to Brighton’s asking price.
‘They speculate United may have touched base on Caicedo to irritate Chelsea’s efforts over the same player,’ the report adds.
A report on Wednesday claimed ‘progress’ is being made in Chelsea’s ‘pursuit’ of the Ecuadorian international.
The 21-year-old is ‘eager’ to move to Chelsea and Brighton will not stand in his way, as long as their asking price is met.
£80m ‘could be enough’ to land Caicedo, though the Seagulls will try to tempt Chelsea into including defender Levi Colwill in the deal.
That will be a difficult sell though as Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino is desperate to keep the England U21 international at Stamford Bridge.
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