Romano says how far apart Chelsea and Brighton are in negotiations for Caicedo

Although their focus up until now has been to trim their squad, Chelsea remain locked in talks to sign Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo.

That’s according to leading transfer expert and CaughtOffside columnist Fabrizio Romano, who has detailed the Blues’ approach to signing the highly-rated Ecuadorian midfielder.

Widely regarded as one of the Premier League’s best midfielders, Caicedo, 21, enjoyed a hugely successful campaign last season, which included making several appearances at full-back.

Proving his versatility, the 21-year-old played a huge role in the Seagulls’ season, which, after finishing sixth in the Premier League, ensured they qualified for the 2023-24 Europa League.

And although Brighton and Hove Albion supporters will still be buzzing about their young South American’s performances, like all good things in life, they must eventually come to an end, and with Chelsea huge admirers of the Seagulls’ number 25, a transfer away from the AMEX Stadium appears to be just a matter of time.

“The negotiations for Moises Caicedo is still ongoing because as I already explained, from what I am told, this negotiation between Chelsea and Brighton is kind of direct negotiation so it’s not traditional negotiations in terms of an official bid and official answer from the other club,” Romano said on Monday’s DeBrief podcast.

“We know they have Paul Winstanley, who was at Brighton, so he has a good relationship with the club and so they are trying to handle this one different way, for example, last summer was very difficult to negotiate for [Marc] Cucurella.”

Going on to explain what is holding negotiations up, Romano revealed how Chelsea and Brighton are