USMNT captain Tyler Adams' deal with Chelsea reportedly falls through after Caicedo pivot

United States men's national team midfielder Tyler Adams is no longer set to join Chelsea F.C. after the West London club pivoted back to its pursuit of Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo, per multiple reports.

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It appeared Thursday that Liverpool would land Caicedo, Chelsea's top midfield target, after reports indicated Brighton accepted a £140 million bid for him. But the Ecuador midfielder reportedly rejected Liverpool in favor of Chelsea, prompting the London club to back out of its deal with Adams for now.

Adams, 24, captained the USMNT at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. His USMNT teammate Christian Pulisic played at Chelsea for four years before securing a transfer to AC Milan this summer. Chelsea is owned by American businessman Todd Boehly.

Adams arrived in Leeds after a stint with German Bundesliga club RB Leipzig in July 2022, rejoining American manager Jesse Marsch. While Adams shined in his role as Leeds' primary defensive midfielder before sustaining a season-ending injury in March, the club struggled as a whole, finishing 19th in the Premier League and getting relegated to the EFL Championship after Marsch was let go by the club in February.

As a result of Leeds' relegation, Adams was available to be bought out of his contract for £20 million, or $25.5 million. Several Premier League clubs have been linked to Adams over the last month, including Nottingham Forrest, West Ham, Newcastle and Aston Villa, but Chelsea were the first to trigger Adams' release clause. Other rumors Friday connected Adams to Brighton as a potential replacement for Caicedo.

After cutting ties with its defensive ace of many years, N'Golo Kanté, earlier in the transfer window, there's a hole in Chelsea's midfield next to Enzo Fernandez. Whether that hole is ultimately filled with Adams, Caicedo or some combination of the two remains to be seen.

Chelsea will open its Premier League campaign against Liverpool on Sunday, Aug. 13.