Chelsea ready to RAISE Caicedo transfer offer as Brighton star REJECTS Liverpool
Tom Hancock
- 11 Aug 2023 18:59 BST
- 3 min read
Chelsea are reportedly prepared to break the British transfer record for the second time this year in order to sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton.
On a breathless day of drama in arguably the most enduring transfer saga of the summer, Brighton accepted a £111m bid from Liverpool – only for Caicedo to snub a move to Anfield.
As FootballTransfers exclusively revealed today, Caicedo has insisted that he only wants to join Chelsea.
MORE: Chelsea talks with midfielder break down
And, according to Paul Joyce and Tom Roddy of The Times, the Blues are determined to make the transfer happen – believing that Caicedo does, indeed, have his sights firmly set on a switch to Stamford Bridge.
Brighton’s accepting of Liverpool’s enormous offer means Chelsea now know the Seagulls’ asking price – but meeting it would see the Blues pay a British-record once again, having done so barely six months ago to land Enzo Fernandez.
Argentina’s World Cup-winning midfielder completed a £106.8m move from Benfica on deadline day of the winter transfer window.
MORE: De Zerbi takes SWIPE at Chelsea transfer target Caicedo as midfielder leaves Brighton
Meanwhile, at Brighton, they appear to have resigned themselves to losing Caicedo – with head coach Roberto De Zerbi even going as far as to say that he has moved on from the Ecuadorian already. At a press conference this afternoon, he said:
“I have already forgotten about Moises. I’m really proud of the players we have in the squad.
“We want to keep improving. The credit goes to the club. Bigger clubs can buy our players but they can't buy our soul or spirit.”
Brighton begin their 2023/24 Premier League campaign at home to newly promoted Luton on Saturday, before Mauricio Pochettino takes charge of Chelsea for the first time when they host Liverpool on Sunday.
