Liverpool eye late £42m move to sign Moises Caicedo

Liverpool are eyeing a £42m bid to sign Brighton star Moises Caicedo as Jurgen Klopp looks to bring in a new midfielder before the window closes, according to The Sun.

The Reds are facing something of an injury crisis in the middle of the park with Thiago Alcantara, Curtis Jones, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all currently on the sidelines.

It’s fuelled speculation that Liverpool will make a late move in the transfer market before it closes on Thursday night. Klopp reiterated his desire to further strengthen his midfield options at his press conference today but refused to divulge any names.

Caicedo has emerged as a potential target and The Sun claims Liverpool are now eyeing a late move for the South American with the Merseysiders considering testing Brighton’s resolve with a £42m offer.

If Liverpool do formalise their interest it would give the Seagulls the opportunity to turn a huge profit as they paid Independiente just £4.5m for Caicedo in February 2021.

The 20-year-old struggled for first team football last season as he made just 8 Premier League appearances before being loaned to Beerschot, but he’s forced his way into Graham Potter’s starting eleven following the exit of Yves Bissouma this summer.

Big money

Caicedo has been hugely impressive in the first four games of the new campaign and Liverpool are the latest top Premier League club to be credited with an interest in the Ecuador international.

However, Brighton are desperate to keep hold of him and Potter has suggested it would take a lot more than £42m to tempt them into a deal. When asked about a possible £42m offer from Liverpool, the Brighton boss is quoted by The Sun as saying:

“In football you never know, but we are quite calm and confident.

“You’d probably get his boots for that from the chairman — maybe! £100m? They can try.”

So it looks as though Liverpool would have to be prepared to dig deep if they want to sign Caicedo before the window closes and Brighton have already shown this summer they are tough negotiators. The south coast club forced Chelsea to pay over £60m for Marc Cucurella so it’s no surprise they’ll want huge money from Liverpool for Caicedo.

We’ll have to wait and see how things develop over the coming hours but I don’t see the Reds paying over the odds to sign a player who’s made just 12 Premier League appearances.

Klopp knows he needs another midfielder before the window closes but the club won’t be strong armed into spending huge money. If Liverpool are going to pay £60m-£70m+ on a midfielder, the owners would probably want to wait to buy Jude Bellingham next summer.