Moises Caicedo is set to undergo his medical at Chelsea today after the Blues agreed a British record deal worth £115m with Brighton for the 21-year-old, according to The Athletic.
Caicedo has been at the centre of a tug-of-war between Chelsea and Liverpool this summer. The Blues were in pole position to sign the South American but struggled to get a deal agreed having seen several bids rejected by Brighton. Liverpool appeared to have hijacked the move after agreeing a £110m deal and Caicedo was expected to undergo a medical on Merseyside last Friday.
However, in a stunning twist, the midfielder snubbed the proposed move to Anfield and told Brighton he only wanted to join Chelsea. The West Londoners have been locked in talks with the Seagulls over the weekend and The Athletic claims a deal has now finally been agreed.
Journalist David Ornstein says Chelsea will pay £100m up front with a further £15m in add-ons, half of which are easily achievable, meaning the deal breaks the British transfer record. Brighton also have a sell-on clause included in the deal.
Ornstein claims that Caicedo will now undergo his medical in London today before signing an eight year contract at Stamford Bridge with the option to extend by a further year.
Key deal
Mauricio Pochettino has been desperate to strengthen his midfield this summer after seeing the likes of N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek leave. Caicedo has always been Chelsea’s prime target so Pochettino will be relieved to have finally got his man.
However, the news will come as a huge blow to Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp is also in desperate need of a holding midfielder after allowing Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to move to Saudi Arabia.
Naby Keita and James Milner have also left this summer and although Liverpool have signed Alexis MacAllister and Dominik Szoboszlai, another midfielder is needed and Caicedo was identified as the ideal fit at Anfield.
Liverpool did all they could to land the South American but they’ve missed out to Chelsea, leaving Klopp searching for alternative targets. Romeo Lavia has widely been touted as a target for Liverpool but it appears the Southampton ace could also be heading to Stamford Bridge.
Caicedo should prove to be a superb signing for Chelsea as he’s developed into one of the best central midfielders in the Premier League since joining Brighton from Independiente del Valle in 2021.
