De Zerbi confirms major Caicedo Brighton decision amid Chelsea transfer pursuit

Chelsea transfer news: Brighton star Moises Caicedo will not get the opportunity to face the Blues ahead of a potential summer move

Roberto De Zerbi has confirmed that Moises Caicedo will not feature for Brighton against Chelsea on Saturday evening. The two English clubs are set to do battle in the Premier League summer series in Philadelphia, but both look set to be without some key players.

"No, we’re going to mix also," Pochettino said when asked if he needs to get closer to his favoured starting XI in the next set of friendlies. "Still we have players who need time to train, several like Enzo only arrived on Monday. After a long period of holidays. We play Brighton on Saturday. It's not because we're going to play a Premier League team I need to play with senior players.

"We need to care about the players, we need to provide the best tools for him to arrive in the best condition when we start the Premier League. I am going to continue the young players the possibility to play on Saturday and the next few games."

Impressive cameos in the week from Carney Chukwuemeka, Angelo Gabriel, Andrey Santos and Cesare Casadei could see them rewarded with more minutes against Brighton while some senior players reach the fitness levels currently held by the majority of the squad.

De Zerbi has also had to welcome some late arrivals to his pre-season camp with Caicedo being the obvious one. According to The Athletic's Andy Naylor, the 44-year-old has confirmed that Caicedo will not play against Chelsea having only been training with the team for the last two days.

When asked about reports claiming a summer departure had been agreed upon when he signed a new deal, De Zerbi said: "No it's not true because I am coach, not owner, coach, not sporting director," he said. "Believe me, it is difficult to be a coach. In my work, I am used to speaking with my players every day, for every question, every part of life, not only football. But I didn’t give my word for nothing.

"We didn’t speak about the next transfer market window and for me, he is a player like the others. OK, we are Brighton and I can understand we have to sell any player at the end of the season like Mac Allister. But at the moment, I have not received news that Caicedo can leave tomorrow or in the next week. I start the next season with Caicedo in my head in the first 11, for sure.”