Frank Leboeuf suggests Chelsea should forget about signing ‘fantastic’ 21-year-old target

Frank Leboeuf has suggested that Chelsea should forget any plans to sign Brighton’s Moises Caicedo this summer.

It’s been one of the most compelling transfer sagas of the window so far: Moises Caicedo to Chelsea.

As it stands, the 21-year-old midfielder is still a Brighton player and is preparing for the upcoming campaign with them.

There’s so much transfer speculation discussing him ending up at Stamford Bridge, though.

The Times claimed yesterday that Caicedo’s camp are now preparing to speak with Brighton to ask them to lower the £100million price tag. This comes after Chelsea’s £80million offer for the Ecuador international was rejected.

We’re reading numerous reports about Mauricio Pochettino’s side working hard to sign Brighton’s talented youngster, but the Blues are struggling to find a breakthrough in negotiations.

It’s obvious that Pochettino’s squad looks thin on the ground in the midfield area, particularly the No 6 position. So will we see Chelsea come again with another attempt for highly-rated Caicedo?

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Leboeuf, who’s a former Chelsea player and now ESPN pundit, is now advising his previous club to ditch the Caicedo transfer pursuit.

He’s admitted that he’s a huge admirer of the “fantastic” defensive midfielder, but he’s worried that there’s a huge lack of experience in the Blues midfield. Incidentally, he may make a fair point when you consider Enzo Fernandez and Conor Gallagher look like the senior figures in the centre of the park.

When discussing Chelsea’s interest in Caicedo, Leboeuf told ESPN: “I love the player. What he showed last season was absolutely fantastic, definitely one of the best players in his position right now. For me, he’s not what Chelsea should look for. They have no experienced players in the middle of the park…

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“They lost [Mateo] Kovacic, [N’Golo] Kante and Jorginho before the end of the season, and they didn’t replace them. Caicedo is a great player, but he doesn’t have the experience I’m looking for and will be needed in the middle of the park for Chelsea.

“… You don’t have to pay £100million every time if you’re Chelsea to get a player. Chelsea is becoming the bank of the football world.”