Amid N'Golo Kante’s expected departure to the Saudi Arabian Super League, Chelsea have been linked with two Premier League superstar midfielders as the Blues look to strengthen in the middle of the park.
The west London club have been linked with both Brighton & Hove Albion’s Moises Caicedo and West Ham’s Declan Rice, per 90min.
Rice is valued in excess of £100m, while Brighton are expected to demand a £80m figure for their Ecuador international.
Chelsea transfer news – Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice
The midfielders are two of the most sought-after transfer targets of the summer with Arsenal also believed to be interested in them ahead of the window.
According to Tom Gott and Graeme Bailey, the Blues are well aware of interest in Caicedo and Rice elsewhere. Caicedo is a top target of Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, while the Telegraph has also highlighted Rice as player of interest for the Premier League runners-up.
Ahead of Kante’s departure, Chelsea look set to sell midfielders Mateo Kovacic to champions Manchester City and Ruben Loftus-Cheek to Champions League semi-finalists AC Milan, while Chelsea declined to make the loan of Denis Zakaria from Juventus a permanent transfer.
Manchester City, Manchester United and Bayern Munich are all reportedly interested in Rice, who lifted the Europa Conference League trophy on Wednesday night as West Ham captain in a dramatic 2-1 victory of Fiorentina.
Should Chelsea sign Moises Caicedo?
Caicedo could be an excellent option for Chelsea with Paris Saint-Germain set to beat them to the signature of Sporting CP midfielder Manuel Ugarte.
It has been reported this week that Chelsea has taken the lead in the race to sign Caicedo, moving slightly ahead of London rivals Arsenal.
Caicedo played a crucial role in Brighton’s success this season, playing in 37 of their 38 league games and featuring in 92% of the Seagulls Premier League minutes.
The Ecuador international who has 30 caps for his country, provided one assist and one goal for Brighton this campaign.
Can Chelsea sign Caicedo and Rice?
It may seem unlikely that Chelsea buy both Caicedo and Rice this summer, especially after spending a huge fee on the transfer of Enzo Fernandez from Benfica back in January.
However, Todd Boehly has shown his pockets are incredibly deep in his opening 12 months at Stamford Bridge.
Rice was asked about his future after West Ham’s victory in the Europa Conference Final but refused to be drawn into speculation about his future.
“There’s a lot of speculation going on about my future,” he said.
“There is interest from other clubs, but ultimately I’ve still got two years left at West Ham. I love this club. So, my focus is playing for West Ham, enjoying tonight and seeing what happens”.