Brighton manager De Zerbi delivers brutal swipe at Chelsea as he gives update on Caicedo transfer

BRIGHTON boss Roberto De Zerbi delivered a brutal jab at Chelsea as he discussed the future of Moises Caicedo.

Mauricio Pochettino’s Blues have made Seagulls midfielder Caicedo, 21, their number one priority during this summer window.

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Roberto De Zerbi has delivered a brutal swipe to Chelsea[/caption]

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The Blues are desperate to sign Moises Caicedo from the Seagulls this summer[/caption]

A £70m bid from the West Londoners has already been rejected, with Brighton owner Tony Bloom valuing the player at around £100m.

Italian coach De Zerbi is preparing for the worst-case scenario of Caicedo leaving.

However, he is currently planning to begin their Premier League and Europa League campaigns with the Ecuador international in his ranks.

Caicedo himself is also believed to have agreed personal terms on a move to Chelsea, who face Brighton tomorrow morning in a pre-season friendly in Philadelphia.

But De Zerbi told the star that unless the Blues pay up then he was going nowhere yesterday.

And he has now followed up from those remarks by taking the opportunity to aim a subtle dig at Chelsea over their failure to qualify for Europe.

He said: “It’s a clear situation at the moment. He stays with us until my owner changes his mind.

“I don’t know what can happen in the future, but if Moises leaves we have to find the right player because it’s difficult to replace a player as good as Moises.

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“We have to substitute him with a great player because this year we play in the Europa League unlike Chelsea.”

He then added: “You have to speak with Tony [Bloom] not with me [to see] if he wants to leave.

“He extended his contract in February and now we are in July, so after five months I don’t know if he can change his idea.”

De Zerbi had previously suggested the idea of a stunning swap deal involving Chelsea’s Levi Colwill, who shone on loan at Brighton last term.

But he was adamant that he and the defender had not held any discussions over him potentially joining permanently.

De Zerbi said: “I don’t speak with Colwill. We haven’t spoken for a month.

“With Moises I spoke with him once but not about the transfer market. I can say my opinion, but it’s not my job… I’m happy to meet [Levi] but not discuss anything else.”

Caicedo will NOT be available for Brighton’s pre-season clash against Chelsea having joined up with his team-mates late.

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