Liverpool were seen as the most possible destination for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo but there was a twist to this transfer saga on Friday. Transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano claimed that the Ecuadorian international has informed Liverpool that his desire is to join Chelsea this summer. “Moises Caicedo has just informed Liverpool that he only wants to join Chelsea! Caicedo has decided to keep his word and only accept Chelsea as personal terms were agreed since end of May. Chelsea, set to bid again in order to get deal done with Brighton,” Romano tweeted.
Caicedo’s latest move comes just hours after Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp confirmed that his side have reached an agreement with Brighton. “I can confirm the [Moises Caicedo] deal with the club is agreed, whatever that means in the end. Of course, we want the player and not just the agreement. We don’t have endless resource. We didn’t expect a couple of things to happen over the summer but when that happened we gave it a go. Let’s see what happens and we go from there,” Klopp said at a press conference.
When asked to share his views on shelling out big money in the transfer market, Klopp said, “Everything changed. Do I like it? No. Did I realise I was wrong? Yes. I’m not blaming anyone but it’s just the market. In the end, we as a club have to make sure that, with our resources, we get the best possible player. We aren’t in a dreamland and can’t just point at a player and get them to come in. Sometimes one door closes and another opens up.”
A report published by The Guardian earlier claimed that Liverpool had their 110m Pounds offer accepted by Brighton. The situation changed rapidly and Chelsea wanted to submit a fresh bid for Caicedo. The Blues were frontrunners for Caicedo last night and they had reportedly submitted an offer worth up to 100m Pounds. Though, Liverpool entered the race late today in a bid to hijack the 21-year-old.
Another Premier League outfit, Arsenal were also interested in Caicedo. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta wanted to sign Caicedo last season during the January transfer window. The Gunners had even reportedly submitted two bids. Brighton, however, managed to retain Caicedo for the remainder of the season.
Brighton had signed Moises Caicedo for 4.5m Pounds from Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle in 2021. He was soon loaned out to Belgian side Beerschot. Having spent a season at Beerschot, Caicedo returned to Brighton in January last year. Caicedo represented Brighton in the Premier League in 34 matches last time. In international football, Caicedo has three goals to his name in 32 matches.
