Brighton rejected a bid from Chelsea for Moises Caicedo in seconds, talkSPORT understands.
The Blues are still pursuing a move for the 21-year-old midfielder this summer and have now seen two bids knocked back.
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Chelsea made an improved £70million offer for Caicedo on Tuesday.
However, talkSPORT understands that this falls well short of Brighton’s valuation of the Ecuador international and it was rejected in seconds.
The Seagulls are still holding out for around £100m, similar to the fee that Arsenal paid for Declan Rice.
Chelsea have previously seen a £60m bid rejected for their No.1 midfield target, after Roberto De Zerbi’s side turned down a similar offer from the Gunners in January.
Caicedo has reportedly already agreed personal terms with the Stamford Bridge club, favouring a move to Chelsea over other teams.
The player is keen on joining the Blues, telling Ecuadorian outlet TC Television: “It’s a big team, that’s true.
“A very historic team which I can’t say no [to joining] because it’s a very big, historic, beautiful team.
“The city as well is beautiful. It’s got everything beautiful.”
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Liverpool are also in the running for the midfielder as a possible replacement for Saudi Arabia linked Jordan Henderson.
Chelsea are currently undergoing a huge overhaul to their squad under new manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Midfielders N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have all departed, meaning Pochettino is in need of new reinforcements in that area.
The Argentinian boss has claimed he is keen to ‘finish the squad’ before the pre-season tour of the United States.
Southampton’s Romeo Lavia and Celta Vigo’s Gabriel Veiga are other names linked with a move to Stamford Bridge.
