Chelsea are set to make an improved offer for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo after seeing a bid rejected on Tuesday, according to reports.
The Blues seem determined to land the Ecuador international this summer after allowing N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and other midfielders to leave.
There were claims over the weekend that Arsenal – who made bids for the 21-year-old in January – are still interested in bringing Caicedo to the Emirates Stadium if Thomas Partey departs this summer.
But it is Chelsea with the concrete interest after The Athletic confirmed yesterday that Brighton have rejected a second bid of £70m for Caicedo.
And the Daily Mail now report that the Blues will ‘make an improved bid’ for Caicedo and ‘are working on an £80m offer plus add-ons’ for their third bid.
Arsenal’s huge £105m deal for West Ham’s Rice ‘prompted a rethink on Caicedo’s valuation’ by Brighton and the Seagulls ‘want around £30m more’ than the £70m Chelsea have just offered.
READ MORE: Summer transfer window 2023: Chelsea clear as the biggest-earning European club
New Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino insists the Premier League club are “working very hard” to bring their summer transfer targets to Stamford Bridge.
When asked about the rejected bid for Caicedo, Pochettino replied: “Well I think all the teams are working very hard to try to earn what we want.
“I’m not going to talk about specific names because I think the most important [thing] is the players that we have.
“But I think, like us, many, many clubs are working in the process to sign the players that can improve all these teams. But I’m not going to talk about the specific name because I think it’s not respectful to talk.”
When asked if he was pleased with how quickly his squad had been streamlined, Pochettino added: “Of course, I think yes we are still working in the process to build the squad, to finish the squad.
“We are working really, really hard. We have a very young squad also, but I think the players are showing all the commitment and they are working so well.
“All we can say is that we are so happy with the way they are working, but of course still we need to work during this pre-season to build a really strong squad first and then to evolve in the way that we want to play and then to apply all the concepts and what we expect from them.”