Chelsea are planning an improved offer for Moises Caicedo while weighing up an offer they sold two years ago. Also: Man City want Raphinha to replace Riyad Mahrez…
BLUES’ IMPROVE MIDFIELDER BID, PONDER PALACE RAID
Chelsea have raked in more money than anyone else so far this summer – though RB Leipzig will be close when they sell Josko Gvardiol to Manchester City – and now Todd Boehly is looking to spend over a third of it on Moises Caicedo.
The Blues have already had one bid rejected by Brighton which valued the Ecuador midfielder at £70million. Not unreasonably, the Seagulls feel Caicedo is worth similar to what Arsenal paid West Ham for Declan Rice.
The Daily Mail says Chelsea will go back with a second offer that gets slightly closer to that £100million mark, but probably not close enough. Apparently, Brighton will very soon be in receipt of a bid worth £80million plus add-ons for the 21-year-old who has already discussed personal terms with the Blues.
Chelsea’s interest in Caicedo is nothing new. But their recruitment plans may have changed somewhat in the wake of Wesley Fofana’s knee injury.
Mauricio Pochettino hopes Fofana will return at some point during the coming season but in the meantime, the Blues are looking for a centre-back to bolster their defensive ranks.
They have been linked with a move for Harry Maguire after the England defender was stripped of the Manchester United captaincy and The Guardian says they are considering a move to being Marc Guehi back to Stamford Bridge two years after selling him to Crystal Palace for £18million.
CITY IN CONTACT WITH BARCA STAR
Maguire might finally be usurped as the world’s most expensive defender when City tie up the loose ends around their deal to sign Gvardiol from Leipzig. Then, City could turn their focus to finding a replacement for Riyad Mahrez.
The Algeria star is Saudi Arabia-bound to join Al-Ahli, who are also in the process of buying Allan Saint-Maximin from Newcastle. The Magpies have been linked with a move for Raphinha but reports suggest that City is now a more likely destination for the Brazilian.
That’s the word according to Foot Mercato, which says contact has been established between the Treble winners and Raphinha’s agent.
BARCA TO BORROW EX-CHELSEA FORWARD
Regardless of whether Raphinha leaves, Barcelona are looking to reinforce their front-line, which they could achieve on the cheap – in the short-term at least – with Joao Felix.
Atletico want rid of the Portugal star, who had a mixed spell at Chelsea through the second half of last season. Felix showed flashes of his quality but not enough to tempt the Blues into making it a permanent arrangement.
AS says Atletico have given Felix their blessing to complete a ‘dream’ move to Barca, initially on loan with the option for the Catalans to purchase at the end of the coming season.
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