The transfer wrangle between Brighton, Chelsea and Liverpool over Ecuadorian international Moises Caicedo took another major twist overnight with the Merseysiders emerging from a dramatic auction as favourites for the coveted midfielder’s signature.
Chelsea had been pursuing a deal for the 21-year-old for most of the summer, though their haggling over a fee with Albion allowed a more decisive Liverpool to swoop in with a British record £110m offer for the explosive South American.
Jurgen Klopp and his recruitment team at Liverpool have been busily retooling the Reds’ midfield during the transfer window and the addition of one of the Premier League’s brightest young starts would be a massive boost to the club’s prospects in 2022/23.
Caicedo to Liverpool – how did it unfold?
Liverpool had been locked in protracted negotiations with Southampton for weeks about the possible signing of teenaged Belgian maestro Romeo Lavia, however, they seemed to change tack quickly when Chelsea joined the race to sign the Saints’ wonderkid.
The Blues seemed to take advantage of Liverpool’s reluctance to meet Southampton’s asking price for Lavia when they made their move for the ex-City youngster, though the Reds turned the tables on Chelsea in similar fashion when they launched their own offensive for Caicedo.
The Ecuadorian had been waiting in West London with his agent to tie up his move to Stamford Bridge, however, Liverpool’s record-shattering £110m package for the destroyer that looks like it will allow them to gazump their rivals.
Liverpool have already completed deals to sign Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig as well as Caicedo’s former teammate Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton, while midfielders Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Naby Keita and Fabinho have all left for pastures news.
Could there be one twist left?
Jurgen Klopp confirmed in a press conference on Friday morning that Liverpool had agreed a transfer fee with Brighton for Moises Caicedo, however, the German manager didn’t sound quite so convincing when a question about personal terms was asked.
When quizzed about how close the deal was to completion, Klopp responded, saying: “For that we will have to see – in Germany we say don’t praise the night before the day is done”.
Several sources close to Chelsea have been hinting that the Londoners have not yet given up hope of bringing Caicedo to Stamford Bridge and that the big-spending Blues still had confidence that they would land the Ecuadorian ahead of Liverpool.
If Chelsea do match Liverpool’s offer for Caicedo, that would certainly give the player a decision to make and the fact that the 32-times capped international had been very keen to move to West London could make things interesting if a deal with the Seagulls is stuck.
In an interview with La Cancha Con Majo, Caicedo spoke about Chelseas, saying: “It's a big team, that's true. A very historic team and I can't say no because it is a very big, historic, beautiful team. The city as well is beautiful.”
Chelsea want to pair Caicedo in central midfield alongside current record signing Enzo Fernandez, though they will have to work fast if they are to stop Caicedo from heading north.
If, as expected, the Blues lose out on primary target Caicedo, a deal to bring Romeo Lavia from Southampton to Stamford Bridge should be tied up instead for a fee in the region of £50m.
Rumours published elsewhere have suggested that Caicedo could even have his medical at Liverpool later today.
