Chelsea and Brighton in Full Agreement Over £115M Moises Caicedo Deal

The ride is over. Liverpool’s attempt to steal Moises Caicedo has failed.

After a wild four days that saw the Reds encouraged to bid by the player’s representatives before having a British-record £111M offer accepted by Brighton, the defensive midfielder is heading to Chelsea.

The two clubs have full agreed a fee and structure for a £115M deal, including a significant portion of the fee paid up front and a sell-on clause.

The 21-year-old Ecuadorian international will join the London Blues on an eight year deal with a club option ninth while Liverpool will move on disappointed and understandably bitter at being misled.

There is credit, though, in even making the effort. In seeing Chelsea struggling to close a deal, seeking assurances they believed genuine, and putting together a quite jaw dropping offer that proved difficult for even free-spending Chelsea to match.

There is also confirmation of the seriousness with which the club view the need to bring in a quality six before the transfer window slams shut.

Caicedo was seen as potentially the final piece of the midfield puzzle for a rebuilt side that has already brought in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai this summer, and now there will be a need to find another solution.

Having previously signalled they would not match Southampton’s £50M of Roméo Lavia, there are signs the club may truly have moved on after their third and supposed final offer was rejected a week ago.

There are also rumblings that Chelsea’s interest in Lavia of recent days may be entirely serious and that Southampton’s Belgian will soon follow Caicedo to Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool, though, will have other targets. They must. The need is apparent, and that the club are fully cognizant of the need is equally so. How they navigate the final weeks of the transfer window, then, could come to define the 2023-24 season.