Roberto De Zerbi tells Chelsea to keep away from Moises Caicedo however hints at a swap cope with Levi Colwill
Roberto De Zerbi points a hands-off warning to Chelsea and insists £100m Moises Caicedo will begin subsequent season at Brighton… however hints providing them in-demand Levi Colwill might assist seal a deal
- Roberto De Zerbi has informed Chelsea to keep away from midfielder Moises Caicedo
- Hypothesis has been mounting over the £100m star’s future at Brighton
- He implied a deal may very well be struck ought to the Blues supply Levi Colwill in a swap
Brighton supervisor Roberto De Zerbi has informed Chelsea to keep away from £100million star Moises Caicedo however hinted that they may very well be persuaded to half methods with the Ecuadorian if the Blues supplied a swap deal for Levi Colwill.
Mail Sport understands Mauricio Pochettino’s facet have been getting ready a bid for the Brighton star and are expected to table an £80m offer after having misplaced curiosity in Juventus ahead Dusan Vlahovic.
It comes as Brighton and Chelsea are set to face-off in opposition to one another on Saturday night time in a pre-season pleasant in Philadelphia.
The London membership have already had a £70m bid for the Ecuador worldwide turned down this week, with Brighton eager to hold on to the 21-year-old prospect after he penned a new contract with the club in March.
De Zerbi admitted that whereas Caicedo will not function in tomorrow’s match he was hopeful the Ecuadorian might be in his group initially of subsequent season, however conceded that the membership had been getting ready for all times with out him.
‘We have to wait and see what occurs with Caicedo,’ he stated in a press convention on Friday. ‘Then we all know what we have to do. I’ve not spoken with him but, however in fact I might like him to remain.
‘If he does go away, we have to purchase one other nice participant with the identical traits and qualities. They’re troublesome to search out. He is right here, he is skilled three days. However he wants time to situation. Proper now, there’s a chance he can go away this window.
‘What’s he price? It is not my job to say. However [he will be] very troublesome to switch. I’ve little doubt he’ll cope if he stays. He is an amazing man. However the market is not closed so we should wait. He will not play in opposition to Chelsea tomorrow – he isn’t prepared but.’
He added: ‘For the time being, I’ve not acquired information that Caicedo can go away tomorrow or within the subsequent week. I begin subsequent season with Caicedo in my head within the first XI for positive.’
The midfielder, who joined the Seagulls back in 2021, has just lately admitted that he ‘would be open to joining Chelsea‘ calling the London facet a ‘stunning group’.
It comes after he had tried to push through a move to Arsenal earlier this yr, however his makes an attempt failed, with Brighton locking him down on a brand new contract till 2027 as a substitute.
He has turn into a pivotal member of De Zerbi’s squad, notably serving to them achieve a berth within the Europa League having began in 34 league video games final season.
‘I spoke with Tony Bloom and he informed me if the situations do not change, Moises stays with us,’ De Zerbi stated over the indispensable midfielder’s future.
‘For me, it ought to be nice information as a result of it’s troublesome to search out one other nice participant.
‘If Moises leaves, we have now to search out one other participant of the identical stage.’
That participant may very well be Chelsea academy graduate Levi Colwill, who has been on mortgage on the south coast facet this season and has impressed the Italian a lot that he could be keen to half methods with Caicedo in a swap cope with the 20-year-old.
However in a perfect scenario, the De Zerbi admitted he’d like to have each gamers in his squad.
The Italian supervisor stated: ‘There are two questions. Not solely about Caicedo, additionally about Colwill, and perhaps it may be [a swap].’
‘I want to play with Caicedo and Colwill collectively however in the intervening time I can solely discuss Caicedo as Colwill is just not one among my gamers.’
Like Caicedo, the English centre-back has additionally been an necessary a part of the Seagull’s squad this season, making 17 appearances, notably having fun with loads of recreation time in direction of the again finish of the marketing campaign.
However Mail Sport understands that Pochettino’s side have recently offered the centre-back a new contract, with the brand new manager set to hold talks with the player last week.
