Liverpool are the mystery club who’ve submitted an £80m+ bid for Moises Caicedo as they look to hijack Chelsea’s move for the Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder, according to Football Insider.
Chelsea have been chasing Caicedo all summer but are yet to agree a deal with Brighton for the Ecuador international. The Blues have had several bids rejected with the latest offer worth £75m plus £5m in add-ons knocked back by the Seagulls, as per the report.
Brighton are demanding in excess of £100m for the highly-rated midfielder and reports suggest that the South Coast club are now planning for the new season with Caicedo as part of Roberto De Zebri’s plans.
The 21-year-old is also an influential figure for De Zerbi – who has publicly admitted he wants to keep Caicedo. Chelsea are believed to be ready to make an improved bid for the South American midfielder in the coming days.
However, Chelsea’s failure to agree a deal with Brighton has opened the door for Liverpool to hijack the move. The Athletic reported this week that an unknown club have made an offer worth more than £80m for Caicedo, surpassing Chelsea’s most recent offer.
Competition
Football Insider now claims that Liverpool are the mystery club to have launched a move to sign the midfielder from under Chelsea’s nose after making contact with Brighton this week. However, Liverpool’s offer still falls short of Brighton’s £100m valuation so it remains to be seen whether they’ll get a deal agreed.
Jurgen Klopp has lost five midfielders this summer and has so far only managed to bring in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai as replacements.
The exit of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho means the Reds will have to make further reinforcements with the Premier League season starting next week. Caicedo would be the perfect replacement for Fabinho in the defensive midfield role so it’s no surprise Liverpool have made a move.
The young midfielder was named Players’ Player of the Season following his impressive displays in the middle of the park for Brighton last term. He featured in 43 games and made two goal contributions as they finished 6th in the Premier League.
We will have to wait and see how Chelsea respond to Liverpool’s bid but the Blues are expected to make another offer in the coming days as the race for Caicedo’s signature intensifies.
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