The west London club had made Enzo Fernandez their top January transfer target, but their offer to Benfica was less than his (£106m) release clause.
According to reports, Chelsea is considering making a bid for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo.
The west London club had made Enzo Fernandez their top January transfer target, but their offer to Benfica was less than his (£106m) release clause.
Fernandez, who played a key role in Argentina’s World Cup victory last month, had initially told Benfica that he wanted to join Chelsea, but his celebration on Tuesday evening suggested that the midfielder has changed his mind and will stay with the Portuguese club until the end of the season.
According to The Guardian, Graham Potter has prioritized a January transfer for a midfielder, and a deal for Caicedo is now being considered.
According to the report, Chelsea are also interested in signing Alexis Mac Allister, but a deal for his Brighton teammate may be easier to complete.
Caicedo, who impressed for Ecuador at the World Cup in Qatar, is also on Jurgen Klopp’s radar, with the Reds looking to bolster their midfield options.
Brighton are thought to want at least £70 million for the 21-year-old, who they signed for £4.5 million in 2021.
Potter, who was still the manager of Brighton at the time, joked last August that a £42 million bid would not come close to securing a deal for Caicedo.
‘You’d probably get his boots from the chairman for that – maybe! £100m? ‘They can give it a shot,’ Potter said.
‘It’s not surprising that people are looking at him because he’s playing at such a high level.
‘As soon as you do research on him, you realize he is a top kid, a great person, young, playing in the Premier League, and he has all the attributes to play at the very, very highest level,’ says one.