Chelsea looking to include players in swap deal for Brighton's Moises Caicedo

Chelsea are exploring the possibility of including some of their fringe players in a deal for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo, according to reports.

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The west Londoners thought they were closing in on a deal for Sporting Lisbon defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte over the weekend, only for Paris Saint-Germain to double their contract offer to the Uruguayan and swoop in at the eleventh hour.

Chelsea were already planning a medical for Ugarte and were prepared to pay in excess of his £52million release clause, but he is already understood to be in the French capital to complete a move to PSG instead.

The Blues have had to hastily rethink their transfer plans as a result and have immediately been linked with a fresh move for Caicedo, who they tried to sign in January.

Chelsea’s interest in the Ecuadorian has never waned despite moving for Ugarte and they will step up their interest in the coming days, with the Daily Mail reporting that they are already evaluating ways to lower the overal cash package of the deal.

Brighton rejected a number of offers from both Chelsea and Arsenal in the January window, the largest of which was believed to be £70m which was inclusive of add-ons and bonuses.

The Seagulls are hoping to get £80m this summer and have an understanding with the 21-year-old that he will be allowed to leave if an offer of that magnitude arrives.

Ugarte only had a £52m release clause so Chelsea will need to stump up over 50 per cent extra to land Caicedo, while Brighton are likely to be less willing to spread the cost out over several years.

As such, the west London club are seeing if any of their many fringe squad players could be thrown into the negotiations to act as makeweights in a deal.

Chelsea have a heavily bloated squad and need to offload over a dozen players this summer, with the absence of European football meaning there will be precious few opportunities for game time while Mauricio Pochettino is known to prefer a smaller squad.

However, one player Chelsea will not include in the deal is centre-back Levi Colwill, with the Blues keen to give the youngster a role in the first-team squad next season.

Colwill enjoyed a hugely promising campaign on loan with Brighton – notably impressing with his man-to-man marking job against Martin Odegaard in last month’s win over Arsenal – and the Seagulls tested Chelsea’s resolve with a £30million offer last week.

But Chelsea rejected that bid and do not want to sell the 20-year-old or use him as a makeweight, and will need to find a different player to include in a deal for Caicedo.

The Ecuadorian is also on the radar of Arsenal, who also bid for him in January, and he is believed to favour a move to the Gunners due to their participation in the Champions League, though they are preoccupied with securing a deal for West Ham skipper Declan Rice which could give Chelsea an opportunity to swoop in.

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