Manchester United and Brighton and Hove Albion have made contact over a potential transfer of Moises Caicedo to Old Trafford, sources close to both clubs have confirmed to 90min.
Brighton’s current asking price is understood to be £100m – similar in number to Declan Rice, who is close to joining Arsenal for £105m – though it’s understood that is considered an overall figure rather than an up front payment.
The asking price has risen recently as Brighton feel Caicedo is worthy of similar market value to the West Ham captain, given his Premier League proven quality and age. Caicedo is still only 21.
United have been targeting a new central midfielder throughout the summer window so far, and have seen three bids rejected from Chelsea for Mason Mount. United made their latest bid last Friday totalling £55m, which Chelsea rejected. The two clubs are expected to speak again this week to decide whether to find a middle ground and complete the transfer.
Erik ten Hag’s side have so far indicated no willingness to improve on their last offer.
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Caicedo, who United had the option to sign for around £4m in January 2021 from his native Ecuador, is seen as an alternative to Mount, even while his cost would be far higher. Chelsea themselves have been considered as leading contenders to sign Caicedo for a number of weeks and hope to complete a deal for the player.
Whether or not United are prepared to stump up the money required for Caicedo remains to be seen. Ten Hag would also like to sign a new centre-back in an ideal world, as well as a new striker to take the goalscoring burden away from Marcus Rashford.
There’s also a huge focus on who will be in goal for United next season, with David de Gea’s future at Old Trafford looking increasingly uncertain. 90min revealed on Tuesday that a contract extension had previously been agreed with the Spaniard, only for the club to renege on their offer.
The 32-year-old could end up leaving for free to be replaced by Inter’s Andre Onana, who previously worked under Ten Hag at Ajax before moving to Milan.
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On this week’s edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Toby Cudworth, Graeme Bailey and Sean Walsh to discuss Tottenham’s denial of receiving a bid from Bayern Munich for Harry Kane, Arsenal and Manchester City’s tug of war for West Ham captain Declan Rice, Man Utd’s ongoing pursuit of Mason Mount & more!
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