Chelsea told to avoid top transfer target for key reason as Pochettino ponders next move

Frank Leboeuf isn’t convinced that Moises Caicedo is the player Chelsea need right now as Mauricio Pochettino ponders his next move.

Chelsea have had a long-standing interest in Caicedo, but they have struggled to find much common ground with Brighton.

Their latest bid of £80m was rejected and the deal has been tipped to collapse as the talks have stalled between the two clubs.

Chelsea are in desperate need of adding to their midfield, but they could be forced to look at alternative targets in the near future.

With Brighton sticking to their £100m valuation of the 21-year-old midfielder, Chelsea are left in a tricky situation.

While Leboeuf is a big fan of Caicedo, he thinks that Chelsea are in need of a midfielder with more experience at this point in time.

“I love the player,” Leboeuf told ESPN. “What he showed last season was absolutely fantastic and one of the best players in his position right now.

“It’s not, for me, what Chelsea should look for. They have no experience players in the middle of the park. That is what lacking the most for me at Chelsea.

“They have young players, who are very talented players, but you can see the age. They are very, very young. You need players with experience.

“They lost Kovacic, Kante and Jorginho before the end of the season and they didn’t replace them. Caicedo is a great player, but he hasn’t got the experience that I am looking for and will be needed in the middle of the park for Chelsea.”

During Chelsea’s summer clear-out so far, they have shown the door to several experienced stars.

Since January, Chelsea have adopted a more youth-focused style of recruitment as they have picked up the likes of Benoit Badiashile, Mykhailo Mudryk, Enzo Fernandez and Noni Madueke since January.

Arsenal have had great success with recruiting younger stars, but Chelsea must strike the right balance between potential and experience.

Pochettino has an excellent track record when it comes to developing youngsters, but he will be keen to have the right experienced heads on board too.

With two weeks to go until the start of the new Premier League campaign, Chelsea are set for a busy few weeks in the transfer market.

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