Moises Caicedo: 5 cheaper defensive midfielders for Chelsea to pursue as an alternative to the Brighton man

Another day of the summer transfer window has come and gone and Moises Caicedo remains a Brighton player despite Chelsea’s best efforts to prise him away.

The London club are reported to have agreed personal terms with Caicedo a long time ago but have found it hard to come to terms with the club.

Brighton continue to hold out for a fee in the region of £100 million while Chelsea are not willing to pay that much and are hoping for a compromise in their efforts to land their top target this summer.

However, the extent to which the Caicedo has dragged on may yet mean Chelsea have to leave the Ecuadorian and focus on other defensive midfield targets.

Here are five players for Chelsea to pursue this summer as alternatives to Moises Caicedo and none of these guys cost nearly as much.

Moroccan midfielder Sofyan Amrabat has been linked with a move away from Fiorentina since the January transfer window and now in the summer window so far.

The 26-year-old has been touted to replace Sergio Busquets at Barcelona while Manchester United have also been strongly linked.

Amrabat caught mainstream attention for his impressive displays at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar where he helped Morrocco reach the semi-finals.

Fiorentina paid €19.5 million to sign him from Hellas Verona in 2020 and the defensive midfield stalwart has been a key player for La Viola ever since.

Liverpool and Tottenham have also been linked to Amrabat but curiously enough, not Chelsea thus far which is surprising as they are extremely lean in midfield.

Amrabat would also cost less than half of what Brighton want for Caicedo so this just makes sense all around.

Ibrahim Sangare currently plays for PSV and has been strongly linked with a switch to the Premier League for years now, Manchester United more specifically.

The Ivorian midfielder joined PSV for just €7 million in 2020 and has stood tall in the midfield, building a reputation as a tough tackler who is also comfortable on the ball.

The 25-year-old would fit right into the Chelsea midfield as his style complements Enzo Fernandez’s qualities.

It is unclear how much PSV would ask for their midfield gem but it certainly would be nowhere near the €100 million Brighton are insisting on for Caicedo.

Chelsea almost signed Edson Alvarez from Ajax last summer but the Dutch club held firm and blocked the transfer despite the Mexican being keen on the move.

A year later, Alvarez no longer has Chelsea’s interest and was close to joining Borussia Dortmund but the move collapsed.

The 25-year-old has been at Ajax since joining for €15 million in 2019 and currently has two years left on his current contract which means he is available on the cheap compared to Caicedo.

Unlike the other names on this list, Romeo Lavia has actually been strongly linked with Chelsea and was the subject of an unsuccessful bid in January.

The Southampton midfielder has been attracting interest this summer from multiple clubs especially because his club got relegated.

Liverpool have been touted as a possible destination for the young Belgian but Chelsea could also be an attractive proposition if they are serious.

Southampton are said to value the 19-year-old at around £50 million which is significantly less than Caicedo’s valuation and also negotiable as the recently-relegated club does not have a lot of leverage.

Other than being the son of Lilian and the younger brother of Marcus Thuram, Khephren is now building a reputation as one of the best midfielders in the world.

The 22-year-old has become a full French international thanks to his performances for OGC Nice where he has caught the eye.

Khephren is known for his high-energy style of play and ranks very highly in key stats such as progressive passes and take-ons.

Right now, Liverpool are the most likely to sign Khephren Thuram having been strongly linked but it is said that the midfielder prefers to stay in Nice.

It is in Chelsea’s best interest to try and convince the player otherwise as he certainly will not cost as much as Caicedo despite being arguably better than the Ecuadorian.