Tyler Adams, Edson Álvarez touted as Moisés Caicedo alternatives for Chelsea — report

Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino has gone on record multiple times in wishing, wanting, hoping for a bit more experience in his midfield, especially on the defensive side of things, which should place extra emphasis on our continuing pursuit of Moisés Caicedo. The Brighton midfielder may be just 21, but he’s seen as the best available option at the position — with the price tag to match. Brighton continue to hold out for £100m, and Chelsea have yet to go higher than £80m.

Should that impasse fail to resolve in the near future, we apparently do have a couple alternative options on our shortlist (as one should), namely Tyler Adams and Edson Álvarez, as per The Times.

Both midfielders are in their mid-20s and have oodles of experience, and certainly at least in the case of Adams, who’s the current captain of the US Men’s National Team, leadership qualities as well. Adams was a standout at RB Leipzig before switching to Leeds United just last summer, but is “believed to have a relegation clause in his contract”. Leeds paid just £20m for his services twelve months ago, so any such clause is unlikely to be too big.

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Mexico international Álvarez meanwhile should be a familiar name, as he was also an option last summer as we also scrambled for last-minute midfield signings (ended up with Denis Zakaria on loan, who barely played). Álvarez threw some shade at Chelsea over all that not too long ago, but recently saw a move to Borussia Dortmund collapse as well, so he’s once again available (and still ready to leave Ajax) — and maybe for a bit less than the €50m we proposed last year.

The Times’ report also mentions Gabri Veiga, 21 (another familiar link) and Roméo Lavia, 19 (same) as potential options, though the latter looks more likely to join Liverpool. So maybe we should just plunk down the cash for Caicedo and get it over with...