Fabrizio Romano confirms Chelsea working on a deal for €115m man

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Chelsea have already started to take steps in a potentially vital deal for the future of Enzo Maresca’s side.

Romano has revealed that the Blues are plotting behind the scenes to open contract talks with midfielder Moises Caicedo.

The Ecuador international was voted as the club’s Player of the Season but also the Players’ Player of the Season, underlining his importance to Chelsea’s campaign as they lifted the UEFA Conference League crown and also crucially booked a return to the Champions League next season.

Romano took to X to confirm: “Chelsea have already started working internally on new deal to be proposed to Moises Caicedo.

“Talks to start soon.”

What does Caicedo’s new deal mean?

Caicedo’s existing contract at Chelsea expires in 2031. This was signed after he arrived from Brighton in the summer of 2023 in a blockbuster €116 million deal – a club record at the time but one that has since been surpassed by Enzo Fernandez.

Contract talks, then, are not about re-assessing the length of time that the 23-year-old is at the club. Instead, this is about giving the player a pay rise in line with his new status as a Stamford Bridge figurehead player.

Caicedo is reckoned to earn around €180,000 (£150,000) a week, which puts him in the second tier of earners at Chelsea, behind the likes of Marc Cucurella, Enzo Fernandez and Reece James.

The Ecuador international can look forward to a pay rise that is likely to be funded, at least in part, by the squad being trimmed. Christopher Nkunku, who is one of their biggest earners, is set to depart in the summer and Caicedo could be a benefactor from this deal.

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