Chelsea preparing ‘£167m’ bids for midfielders as they eye shock double swoop

Chelsea are ready to increase their bid for Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo with reports they are ready to offer a British record £115m for the player.

Liverpool are refusing to walk away from the deal with an accepted £111m bid on the table, meaning the Blues will need to beat that offer to convince Brighton to sell.

Sky Sports report Chelsea are preparing a bid worth a staggering £115m after Caicedo expressed a desire to move to Stamford Bridge ahead of making the switch to Anfield.

The Blues were beaten by Liverpool’s offer late on Thursday night and looked out of the race but remain in a position due to the player’s stance.

Chelsea broke the British transfer record in January with the £106.8m signing of midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Benfica. Caicedo was due to have a medical at Liverpool on Friday but is said to want to join Chelsea with the club already seeing a number of bids rejected by Brighton who had wanted £100m for the midfielder following Declan Rice’s £105m switch to Arsenal.

However, Liverpool’s involvement has now driven up the price for the player, with Chelsea already having a number of bids turned down by Brighton this window.

Meanwhile, Sacha Tavolieri reports an agreement between Chelsea and Southampton is close for Romeo Lavia over a deal worth £52m plus a potential £3m in add-ons.

Liverpool have had three bids rejected by Southampton for the midfielder, with the Championship club putting a £50m asking price on the former Man City midfielder.

Sky Sports also report an agreement is close for Lavia but that Liverpool remain interested in the player. Chelsea’s first bid for the player came in at £48m but Southampton are reported to be standing firm on their £50m asking price.

Chelsea are keen to sign two more midfielders this summer and could still land both Lavia and Caicedo after a deal for Leeds United star Tyler Adams fell through on Friday despite the Blues activating the £20m release clause in his Elland Road contract.