After Chelsea rejected a £55 million offer to buy Mason Mount, three-time rejected Manchester United have approached Ecuadorian defender Caicedo to discuss potential transfers. The 21-year-old is currently one of the favourites of the Premier League giants, with Arsenal and Chelsea also eyeing him.
However, Caicedo is also one of the most expensive backs. British media revealed, coupled with the floating clause, Brighton asked for a huge £90 million transfer from Caicedo, which is a prohibitive price for Manchester United. Even Chelsea, who have spent a lot of money over the past year, told the Seagulls that they would not meet their list price of more than £80 million.
After learning over the weekend that the club was interested in Caicedo, Manchester United fans turned up a passage from his 2020 statement in which he declared his dream of playing for the Red Devils. "My dream is to play for Manchester United and Antonio Valencia is my role model, he has reached that level through his strong body and dedication. It motivates me to keep working hard and do the right thing."
At the time, Manchester United had the opportunity to sign Caicedo from Ecuador's Valle Independiente club for £5 million, but the Red Devils chose to give up due to the complexity of ownership. Eventually, Caicedo joined Brighton, returning on loan in Belgium and becoming a Premier League star. Ironically, his first goal was against Manchester United.
In fact, Manchester United fans don't have to be excited about Caicedo's "dream", because as a young football boy in South America, playing for many European giants is naturally a childhood dream. It was only this year that Caicedo said it had always been his dream to play for Real Madrid. "It's always been my dream to play for Real Madrid and now I'm playing well, so why can't I think about playing at the Bernabeu and winning the Champions League with the Galaxy in the future?" Caicedo said at the time, "Their style of play, personality and style, is truly impressive."
Meanwhile, the British "Guardian" said that the Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich are interested in joining the battle for Mason Mount, and the coach Thomas Tuchel wants to bring in the favorite who has won him the Champions League. And if Mount moves abroad, Chelsea are rumoured to be willing to lower their asking price and accept a lower transfer fee.
ESPN reports that due to the high price of Caicedo, Manchester United have prepared two other cheaper midfield signings, namely Ajax's Mohamed Koudus and Utrecht's Taylor Booth.
The new rumours have led many Manchester United supporters to ask who Booth, who debuted at Real Salt Lake City and joined Bayern's youth team in 2019, has an Italian passport. The 22-year-old is an American international who made 23 appearances in the Eredivisie last season, scoring two goals and assisting four times before being named Eredivisie of the Month in November.
Speaking about his future, Booth once said: "I would be flattered if a club in the Premier League, La Liga or Serie A was interested in me, and when I was a little boy playing football in the basement of my hometown, I kept saying that dreams are going big, maybe they come true?"
Ghanaian international Koudus, a 22-year-old who played for Ten Hag, is a versatile midfielder who can play in many positions, including midfielder and striker. Interestingly, if Brighton sells Caicedo, De Zelby also intends to bring in Kudus as his replacement.