Man Utd tell Brighton how much they will pay for Caicedo

Tom Weber

• 29 Jun 2023 15:36 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United have informed Brighton of how much they would be willing to pay for Moises Caicedo, according to reports.

The Ecuadorian star has become one of the Red Devils' top transfer targets following the standstill in the negotiations for Chelsea's Mason Mount. The Blues rejected United's three offers for their academy graduate and, although Fabrizio Romano claims that the two clubs will meet to discuss the possibility of continuing negotiations, head coach Erik ten Hag is ready to move on.

The Dutchman wants to get his business done early, though the prospects of that happening are slim seeing as though there is still no clarity over the takeover situation. Nevertheless, United are ready to make a push for Caicedo, who is one of several potential Mount alternatives, with Ajax's Mohammed Kudus and Utrecht's American midfielder Taylor Booth also under consideration.

READ: Man Utd join Newcastle in race to sign Ronaldo’s successor

In focusing on the Brighton man, the Manchester club are also trying to get one over on Chelsea. The Red Devils' recruitment team is said to be upset at the way their London counterparts carried themselves during the Mount talks. Caicedo is seen as Chelsea's number-one priority target at the moment.

United willing to break the bank

According to The Athletic, United have held talks with Caicedo's representatives and Brighton and informed them that they have no intention of matching the Seagulls' hefty asking price of £100 million (€116m). They would, however, be prepared to offer more than they did for Mason Mount, claims the report.

That is because the Chelsea man is three years Caicedo's senior and the latter has more potential in the eyes of United's recruitment team. An exact figure wasn't revealed. United's third offer for Mount amounted to £55m.

REVEALED: Manchester United's summer budget

Bloomberg claims that Erik ten Hag and company have a budget of £260m available this summer despite the takeover uncertainty. But they won't be able to spend all of it because of Financial Fair Play regulations, so if they want to sign Caicedo, a David de Gea replacement and a top-class, big-money striker, they will have to sell some high-profile names this window.