Ray Parlour says Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo securing a transfer to Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea is the ‘obvious’ move.
The Arsenal legend thinks Chelsea, who have spent like crazy during the last two transfer windows, are a little ‘light’ in the middle of the park after the departures of N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic.
As a result, Parlour thinks more fresh legs will be needed to be brought in to challenge for midfield spots and he thinks Moises Caicedo is the ‘obvious one’, but he also feels there will be ‘a lot of clubs will be interested in him’, as he told talkSPORT.
One of those teams includes Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, who are looking to bolster their squad this summer ahead of another Premier League title push, but it has been claimed that it’s their London rivals that are ‘leading the race’.
Given that a certain Declan Rice is moving to the Emirates for a British record £105 million, then you wouldn’t begrudge Brighton from asking for the same amount of money for their star midfielder – Roy Keane was previously backing the ‘strong’ and ‘powerful’ Ecuador international to make a move to the Emirates.
At 21, Caicedo is showcasing a lot of promise, including the ability to play in various roles, such as at right-back, with Parlour backing a transfer to Stamford Bridge.
“I saw Chelsea not playing as a team (last season),” said Parlour. “Lots of individuals. That’s why they failed.
“Now, he (Pochettino) has to thin the squad out, which he has done and get the players where he looks in training and he says ‘look, they really want it these guys’. And build a team around that.
“I am sure there will be a few more signings yet because they have let a lot of players go. The obvious one would be Caicedo. I hate talking about Brighton, but every time I am talking about Brighton, I am trying to sell one of their players.
“That’s going to be the obvious one because a lot of clubs are going to be interested in him. That’s where I would be trying to strengthen. You have lost Kante, Kovacic and Mason Mount, people like that, so they are a bit light in midfield. If they got Caicedo, it then puts them in a very good position.”
Midfield mayhem
It seems to be a transfer window for midfield players. Everyone wants one. Everyone is bidding for one. And they are all going for serious money.
As mentioned, Arsenal are edging closer to bringing in Rice, but if they sell Thomas Partey alongside the now-departed Granit Xhaka, then they are being tipped elsewhere to bring in Caicedo.
Either way, the market value of players is already inflated and these possible transfers will only take it to even crazier levels.
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