A decisive factor will ultimately have the say in Chelsea making a formal bid to sign another star from Brighton, with Enzo Maresca’s side impressed and could look to raid the Amex Stadium yet again.
All players Chelsea have signed from Brighton since Boehly takeover
As well as stealing away some of their staff members over the last few years, with ex-head coach Graham Potter swapping the south coast for London, alongside Laurence Stewart, Paul Winstanley and Sam Jewell, Chelsea have also heavily recruited from Brighton on the player side.
Indeed, club-record signing Moises Caicedo, left-back Marc Cucurella and goalkeeper Robert Sanchez all moved from Brighton to Chelsea for a combined total of well over £200 million – highlighting just how much Todd Boehly admirers the project built by Seagulls chief Tony Bloom.
Caicedo is arguably yet to justify his £115 million British-record fee, but the Ecuadorian was also compared to Arsenal star Declan Rice for the majority of the season, and you can make the case that there is room for him to blossom under Maresca in his second season with more experience at Stamford Bridge.
| Chelsea’s most expensive signings under Todd Boehly | Price tag |
|---|---|
| Moises Caicedo | £115 million |
| Enzo Fernandez | £107 million |
| Myhhailo Mudryk | £88 million |
| Wesley Fofana | £72 million |
| Marc Cucurella | £58 million |
“I think it’s a process,” said Mauricio Pochettino on Caicedo in December.
“The temptation is to analyse and compare a player from one season to another when it’s not fair. It’s a different environment, different moment, how the situation is now. He arrived when we were already playing games in the Premier League, with no pre-season. It’s an emotional situation that happened with him.”
Maresca is actually believed to be a big fan of Sanchez in the goalkeeping department, so we could expect to see the former Brighton ace play a key role under the Italian. Meanwhile, Cucurella was praised for a late-season surge under Pochettino despite a slow start to 2023/2024.
Maresca has an open-door policy and his philosophy should get the best out of full-backs. Marc Cucurella, who thrived in a late-season inverted role under Mauricio Pochettino, is the type of player perfect for Maresca's system.
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) May 27, 2024
Chelsea have also been linked with a move for Brighton starlet Evan Ferguson, but the Republic of Ireland international is expected to cost a premium.
Chelsea could lodge formal bid for Julio Enciso
Now, according to reports in Spain, it is believed Julio Enciso is yet another Brighton ace who has admirers in west London. The Paraguay forward has impressed at the Copa America, and his performances at the tournament could see his price tag rise to around £50 million.
It is believed Chelsea could make a formal bid for Enciso, dependent on if he continues to turn heads on Paraguay duty – with his Copa America displays seen as a “decisive factor” in their potential approach.
The club have shown “great interest” in him, though, and he is regarded as one of the most exciting prospects in South American football.
