Yorke slams Chelsea for 'insane' £280m spend on Caicedo, Fernandez and Lavia

Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo are expected to be joined at Stamford Bridge by £58m target Romeo Lavia, with one former Man Utd star branding the prices "insane"

Chelsea have been slammed by Dwight Yorke for their £280million spend on three defensive-minded midfielders.

Having swooped for Enzo Fernandez during the January transfer window - with the World Cup winner setting the club back £107million on his own - the recruitment drive has well and truly continued under new manager Mauricio Pochettino this summer. Moises Caicedo is among those to have signed for £115million from Brighton.

Southampton prospect Romeo Lavia is almost certain to follow those two through the doors, meanwhile, after his proposed £58million switch was given a green light. Chelsea have, yet again, fended off competition from Liverpool to win the race for his signature as football.london understands Lavia, 19, has been pencilled in for a medical.

Should his transfer go through, the Blues will have replenished their stocks in the engine room - with N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic among those to have departed this summer. However, while Pochettino and key figures behind the scenes were pretty much forced into the market, Yorke has not held back in his criticism.

Caicedo, 21, and Lavia are renowned as defensive-minded specialists, but Enzo was unleashed in a more advanced role during the Premier League opener against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon. He was partnered by England player Conor Gallagher - deployed as the main sitter in that draw.

During an interview with OLBG, former Aston Villa and Manchester United star Yorke said: "Chelsea have got crazy money at their disposal, their owners have got deep pockets. Moises Caicedo is a terrific player and he did amazing at Brighton, but £115million for him?

"That's a lot of money, especially for someone who doesn't contribute to many goals from midfield. Caicedo scored two goals and assisted two [in the Premier League for Brighton]. For me, you need to be scoring and assisting more for that amount of money.

"Caicedo's a great player, brings terrific energy, can be very versatile, keeps things simple and brings an edge to the team, but he'll also need to improve his goal output because that money has to be for players that win your games.

"Midfielders can also help you win games, but they shouldn't be anywhere near the price of strikers like Harry Kane or Erling Haaland. A £100million player has to be scoring and assisting 10 goals in a season. Romeo Lavia, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo all can't do that, it's insane."