Summary Moises Caicedo has a "gentlemen's agreement" with Brighton that he can leave if the right fee is offered by Chelsea, according to Sky Sports. The sale of several players has given Chelsea the freedom to pursue new signings, with Caicedo being their primary target. Caicedo's valuation by Brighton is around £100m, and talks between the two clubs will continue to bridge the gap between Chelsea's offer and Brighton's asking price.

Chelsea's number-one transfer target Moises Caicedo feels that he has a "gentlemen's agreement" with Brighton & Hove Albion that he'll be allowed to leave should they receive the right fee, claims Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth.

Is Moises Caicedo joining Chelsea?

There's no such thing as a quiet transfer window at Stamford Bridge, and the last month or so has once again borne that out.

The Blues started the summer not by buying any shiny new stars to add to their squad, but by selling what could almost be a full XI of first-team quality players.

The start of the window saw the likes of N'Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly, among others, decide to swap west London for the Middle East and join the unfathomably wealthy Saudi Pro League.

Others like Kai Havertz, Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic instead opted to remain in England and join Premier League rivals.

All of this selling has seemingly given the Blues the freedom to start adding new names to their squad once again, with the signings of Nicolas Jackson, Diego Moreira and Kendry Paez all confirmed already.

However, the biggest deal that the club have been linked to all summer is undoubtedly their attempt to secure the signature of Brighton's Ecuadorian superstar, Caicedo.

The Seagulls star has been the focus of Chelsea's attention for over a month at this point, and the two sides have been in constant dialogue over the potential move, despite the south coast club rejecting the Blues' most recent offer of £70m, according to Sky Sports.

Mauricio Pochettino's side will have to significantly increase their next offer, as The Athletic has reported that "La Joya" is valued at around £100m by Brighton – a valuation that has been influenced by the recent sale of the positionally similar Declan Rice to Arsenal.

The one advantage that Chelsea have in negotiations, however, is that the 21-year-old wants to make the move and feels like he has a gentlemen's agreement with his club dictating that he'll be allowed to leave should an offer close to their valuation be made, per Sky Sports News reporter Sheth.

He explained the situation live on air, which was posted on the Sky Sports YouTube channel:

"One source has told me earlier on today [Thursday] that Caicedo feels he's got some sort of gentlemen's agreement with Brighton to be able to leave in this transfer window, provided the price is right for Brighton & Hove Albion. Brighton are not commenting on that.

"But look, it should be said, Brighton are very tough negotiators, and they will never stop any of their players leaving provided their valuation is met. So I think there is quite a big gap in that valuation between what Chelsea are prepared to pay and what Brighton want, but talks are going to continue to see if they can bridge that gap.

"He is Chelsea's number-one target – of that there is no question – and we believe that Chelsea are getting that encouragement that Caicedo does want to make the move."

How much does Moises Caicedo earn?

For such a sought-after player, Caicedo was on a relatively small wage for a Premier League footballer just seven months ago.

When Arsenal were first interested in signing the mercurial midfielder in the January transfer window, he was on a contract that saw him earn 'just' £15,000 a week – around £45,000 a week less than the average Premier League player.

Perhaps realising that would make it harder to keep their star, Brighton then upped the wages of their Santo Domingo-born gem to the league average of around £60,000 a week.

Should he make the move to Chelsea, he can probably expect to earn similar wages to their other stars like Enzo Fernandez, who is on £315,000 a week.