Roberto De Zerbi tells Chelsea to stay away from Moises Caicedo but hints at a swap deal with Levi Colwill

Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi has told Chelsea to stay away from £100million star Moises Caicedo, claiming that the midfielder will start next season for the Seagulls. 

Mail Sport understands Mauricio Pochettino’s side have been preparing a bid for the Brighton star and are expected to table an £80m offer after having lost interest in Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic. 

It comes as Brighton and Chelsea are set to face-off against eachother on Saturday night in a pre-season friendly in Philadelphia.

The Blues have already had a £70m bid for the Ecuador international turned down this week, with Brighton keen to hang on to the 21-year-old prospect after he penned a new contract with the club in March. 

De Zerbi admitted that while Caicedo won’t feature in tomorrow’s match he was hopeful the Ecuadorian will be in his team at the start of next season, but conceded that the club were preparing for life without him. 

‘We need to wait and see what happens with Caicedo,’ he said in a press conference on Friday. ‘Then we know what we need to do. I’ve not spoken with him yet, but of course I’d like him to stay.

‘If he does leave, we need to buy another great player with the same characteristics and qualities. They are difficult to find. He’s here, he’s trained three days. But he needs time to condition. Right now, there is a possibility he can leave this window.

‘What’s he worth? It’s not my job to say. But [he will be] very difficult to replace. I have no doubt he will cope if he stays. He’s a great guy. But the market isn’t closed so we must wait. He won’t play against Chelsea tomorrow – he’s not ready yet.’

He added: ‘At the moment, I have not received news that Caicedo can leave tomorrow or in the next week. I start next season with Caicedo in my head in the first XI for sure.’ 

The midfielder, who joined the Seagulls back in 2021, has recently admitted that he ‘would be open to joining Chelsea‘ calling the London club a ‘beautiful team’

It comes after he had tried to push through a move to Arsenal earlier this year, but his attempts failed, with Brighton locking him down on a new contract until 2027 instead.  

He has become a pivotal member of De Zerbi’s squad, notably helping them gain a berth in the Europa League having started in 34 league games last season.

‘I spoke with Tony Bloom and he told me if the conditions don’t change, Moises stays with us,’ De Zerbi said over the indispensable midfielder’s future.

‘For me, it should be great news because it is difficult to find another great player.

‘If Moises leaves, we have to find another player of the same level.’

That player could be Chelsea academy graduate Colwill, who has been on loan at the south coast side this season and has impressed the Italian so much that he would be willing to part ways with Caicedo in a swap deal with the 20-year-old. 

But in an ideal situation, the De Zerbi admitted he’d love to have both players in his squad.

The Italian manager said: ‘There are two questions. Not only about Caicedo, also about Colwill, and maybe it can be [a swap].’

‘I would like to play with Caicedo and Colwill together but at the moment I can only speak about Caicedo as Colwill is not one of my players.’

The English  

More to follow…