Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Chelsea have 'trump card' to beat Arsenal to Moises Caicedo as Laura Woods left fuming
Chelsea and Arsenal are both interested in signing Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo this summer.
Chelsea have a 'trump card' to beat Arsenal to the signing of Moises Caicedo, according to reports. Brighton's interest in Levi Colwill could help the Blues' cause to leave Gunners fan Laura Woods fuming.
Arsenal were keen on signing Caicedo in January. Mikel Arteta's side saw multiple offers turned down for the Ecuador star, including one of £70million.
Chelsea were also interested and are now seemingly leading the way for his signature. Brighton are keen on re-signing defender Colwill on a permanent deal following his loan this season and had a £30m bid turned down last week.
Chelsea want to keep Colwill but may have to sell in order to land Caicedo. The Brighton midfielder's future was a topic of discussion talkSPORT on Tuesday morning.
Presenter Woods, who supports Arsenal, asked transfer reporter Alex Crook how likely it was that Chelsea signed Caicedo. Crook replied: "I think it’s quite likely."
Read more... Man Utd in 'advanced talks' for first summer exit to leave Solskjaer red-faced [GOSSIP]
Woods responded by visibly gasping before slapping and covering her face with a piece of paper and letting out an audible 'argh' sound. Crook continued by outlining the potential importance of Colwill in a possible move for Caicedo.
He added: "Obviously Arsenal were the team pushing for him in January. He signed a new contract in January and part of the reason Brighton wanted to keep him then was that they were anticipating there would be more clubs in for him in the summer.
"I think that is the case because Arsenal are lurking in the background. Brighton’s trump card might just be their interest in Levi Colwill.
"We know last week they had a £30m bid rejected by Chelsea for the young defender. Mauricio Pochettino wants to keep him, but if they can somehow facilitate a loan move or part-exchange move involving Caicedo then I think Brighton would be open for that.
Don't miss...
Man Utd may scrap deal 'in advanced stages' as Mazraoui presents Ten Hag chance [REPORT]
Sheikh Jassim action speaks volumes after new Sir Jim Ratcliffe Man Utd twist [COMMENT]
Kim Min-jae likely to get dream Man Utd shirt number as exit plan hatched [TRANSFERS]
"We know Alexis Mac Allister is likely to move on, probably to Liverpool. Brighton are preparing for the departure of Caicedo as well and they have replacements lined up."
Woods quickly moved to praise Brighton for their continued success in the transfer market. But she admitted she did not want to see Caicedo play in blue next season.
She said: "I'm not surprised they already have replacements lined up. They're so good, aren't they, they're so good at recruitment, good at holding onto them, getting the right price.
"I just hope Caicedo doesn't go to Chelsea because I'd love him at Arsenal but if it meant that they get Declan Rice, who knows?"
Want the latest Premier League news as we publish it on Express Sport? Join our new Facebook group by clicking here