Chelsea's pursuit of Brighton & Hove Albion's exciting Moises Caicedo could soon end as the deal is "moving, the deal is on, and the deal is slowly advancing", claims transfers expert Fabrizio Romano.
Is Moises Caicedo joining Chelsea?
After breaking records with their immense spending only six months ago, Chelsea are once again in the mood to splash the cash on exciting new players to try and help new boss Mauricio Pochettino guide the club back into the top four after a disastrous season last year that saw four separate managers take the helm.
This new wave of spending has partly been funded by the firesale the club has held over recent weeks, with a whole raft of players leaving Stamford Bridge, including nine first-team quality players.
Some of them, like Kalidou Koulibaly, have left for the new riches of the Saudi Pro League; others, like Kai Havertz, have joined Premier League rivals and some, like Cesar Azpilicueta, have joined some of the continent's biggest clubs.
Up to this point, the most notable signing to come through the door this summer has been young striker Nicolas Jackson who joined from La Liga side Villarreal.
That said, the biggest name linked to the Pensioners, and the one that has seemingly got fans the most excited, is Brighton's Ecuadorian superstar Caicedo.
The 21-year-old has been the subject of one of the window's biggest transfer sagas thus far, with the South Coast club placing a £100m price tag on his head.
However, one thing the Blues have in their favour is the player's desire to join the club; in an interview on the La Cancha Con Majo YouTube channel, he said:
"It's a big team, that's true. A very historic team, and I can't say no, because it's a very big, historic, beautiful team."
Despite initial disagreements over the price and structure of the deal, negotiations between the sides are progressing well, and the "deal is on", per transfers expert Fabrizio Romano.
He explained the situation on his YouTube channel, saying:
"The conversations remain ongoing, and what I am understanding, to give you some more detail on this story is that Chelsea and Brighton are now discussing how much they want to agree for the fixed part of this transfer.
"Sources believe that Chelsea wanted to close this deal around £70m plus add-ons, Brighton are not going to accept 70. So something more is needed in terms of fixed amount and then to add some add-ons so they are discussing this kind of details, but the deal is moving, the deal is on, and the deal is slowly advancing."
How good is Moises Caicedo?
The short answer is good, very good. At just 21 years old, the Ecuadorian international is easily one of the most exciting and sought-after players in the Premier League, and it's easy to see why, especially when looking at his underlying numbers.
According to FBref, who compare players in similar positions across Europe's top five leagues, the "physical monster" sits in the top 6% of midfielders for pass completion, the top 11% for interceptions, the top 13% for tackles, the top 15% for attempted passes, and the top 26% for progressive passes, all per 90.
He had a brilliant season for the Seagulls last year, helping them qualify for the Europa League for the first time in the club's history and achieving an average rating of 6.92 across his 37 league matches, per WhoScored.
Football scout Jacek Kulig predicted the astronomical rise, and price, of Caicedo last summer when he said:
"Moisés Caicedo's market value/asking price will be astronomical next summer. And he'll be worth every penny of it.
"Machine Man."
If the Blues are serious about challenging for the Premier League crown once again under Pochettino, then signing a player of Caicedo's talent would certainly be a great place to start.