Chelsea On Verge Of Bringing Moises Caicedo To Stamford Bridge On Eight-Year British Record £115m Deal After Improving On Liverpool’s Bid

By Daniel Ojukwu

It seems that the coast is clear for Chelsea to sign Moises Caicedo in a British record deal worth £115million including add-ons, Daily Mail Football reports.

According to the report,the final terms of the deal were being negotiated on Saturday evening after they agreed to improve on Liverpool’s  £111m offer that was accepted by Brighton on the of Thursday evening.

Caicedo informed Liverpool on a day later that his heart is Chelsea, which opened the door again for the London club to renegotiate.

Brighton have been steadfast throughout the summer that they would not accept anything less than a British record for the 21-year-old Ecuador international. That record is the £106.8m paid by Chelsea for Benfica’s Enzo Fernandez  in January.

Conclusion of a deal for Caicedo will bring to a close to what has been a very public pursuit where Chelsea have made a number of offers up to £80m. 

Caicedo will sign an eight-year contract once terms are finalised. 

It represents excellent business for Brighton who bought Caicedo for a bargain £4.5m from Independiente del Valle in 2021.

Interestingly enough, Chelsea face Liverpool on Sunday afternoon in their first match of the Premier League season. Whether or not Caicedo will be playing for the Reds remains to be seen, but it now looks like time for Chelsea to switch their attention elsewhere.

The Blues have a genuine interest in Romeo Lavia from Southampton. The club saw a £48million offer turned down by the Saints on Wednesday evening but are expected to return with an improved bid.

Southampton initially asked for £50million but the Championship club could now ask for north of that given the competition for his signature. Meanwhile, Tyler Adams of Leeds United is close to completing his long-term move to Chelsea after the club triggered his £20million release clause.

In the wake of his country’s World Cup exit last year, when other players were jetting off to high-end holiday resorts, Moises Caicedo was back in Santo Domingo, Ecuador, playing in a local tournament on the same dusty pitch he used as a boy.

In footage which went viral in the country, Caicedo, a rising star in the Premier League who had just become Ecuador’s youngest scorer at a World Cup, can be seen finding the net again, only this time as a ringer for Caicedos FC, a team made up of extended family members.

His goal, slotted in at the near post in ramshackle surroundings, helped Caicedos FC win the tournament and was celebrated with a leap, a fist pump, and a gesture of recognition to the few hundred spectators sitting or leaning on fences around the pitch.

Source: Daily Mail Football