Chelsea to increase £60m bid for top target after £120m windfall leads to ‘second wave’

Chelsea will launch a second bid for Brighton star Moises Caicedo after they complete further sales with £120m already secured.

The Blues have agreed a £65m deal with Arsenal for Kai Havertz, Manchester City have landed Mateo Kovacic for £30m, while Kalidou Koulibaly and Hakim Ziyech have moved to Saudi Arabia for £17m and £8m respectively.

Edouard Mendy is expected to follow Koulibaly and Ziyech to Saudi Arabia, while Callum Hudson-Odoi and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have also been contacted in the Public Investment Fund’s push to secure top talent from Europe.

Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Marc Cucurella, Malang Sarr and Ethan Ampadu could also leave, according to Evening Standard.

It’s hoped that windfall will allow Chelsea to make further additions this summer.

And the report claims the Blues will make a fresh bid to land Caicedo from Brighton after their initial £60m bid was rejected.

It’s thought the Seagulls want £100m for the Ecuador international, with various swap deals mooted in transfer rumours.

Transfer expert Dean Jones has warned Chelsea to be respectful of Brighton in negotiations but also believes £100m is far too much for Caicedo.

“I think, first of all, we’ve learned that you have to treat Brighton respectfully and certainly don’t aggravate the situation by coming in with offers that you know are not going to be accepted. That’s the first lesson to learn with Brighton. “

“£100m is too much; it’s way too much. This is a player who has had one full season in the Premier League. It’s absolutely outrageous that you would be spending £100m on a player that two years ago you could have bought for £4m.”

A further report on Thursday claimed Chelsea will ‘turn attention to a third forward’ after Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson.

Nkunku made a pre-contract agreement to join Chelsea in December but has now completed the move for a reported £52million.

And Jackson’s arrival is thought to be imminent after the Blues activated the striker’s release clause of £30m.

But in a bid to ensure they score more than 38 goals next season, It’s claimed new manager Mauricio Pochettino wants to add a ‘high profile’ out-and-out striker to his ranks.

A number of top strikers have been linked, most of which Manchester United are also after (though they’ll have to pay over the odds to land any of them), but the report claims Napoli star Victor Osimhen and Inter’s Lautaro Martinez are top of the Blues’ shortlist.

READ MORE: Chelsea book values ahead of June 30 deadline: Havertz (£24.8m), Mount (n/a), Kovacic (£8m)…