Brighton star ‘open’ to £100m interest from Chelsea but time running out to close deal-sources

Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo missed training on Monday to try and put pressure on his team as talks continue between Chelsea and the Seagulls for his signature.

The Ecuador international knows he is Chelsea’s prime transfer target this summer and has seen three offers for him already knocked down. Chelsea wanted to spend around £70million for him but have been forced to go as high as £85million so far- even though that has not been enough so far.

The Blues will attempt again in the coming days but time is running out for him to be ready for the first game as Chelsea had planned when the transfer market opened.

Brighton’s  CEO Paul Barber assured fans they would be happy to keep the player if a fee was not agreed. He told Sky Sports: “For a young player like Moises at 21, he’s probably one of the best midfield players in the world already at his age, and we’ve had a fantastic time working with him.

“And we want it to continue, we’ve got him under a long contract. We’re also realistic to know there is interest in him. As a young man, that interest is inevitably going to have an impact on your thought process and unsettle you a little bit. We understand that.

“But for now, he’s a Brighton player, he’s under contract. We expect him to work hard, prepare for the new season and we’ll see what happens as the window goes on.”

Asked if he was certain the player would be a Brighton player by the time the transfer window was shut he added: “The window’s got a long way to go, we’d love to keep him. He’s a really important player, we’ll see where we are.”

Chelsea will begin their Premier League campaign at home against Liverpool while Brighton take on newly promoted side Luton.