Caicedo's agent explains why Chelsea beat Liverpool to his signature

Stuart Telford

• 22 Sept 2023 16:46 BST
• 3 min read

Moises Caicedo rejected a move to Liverpool on transfer deadline day, instead joining Chelsea from Brighton, and now his agent has revealed why.

Caicedo's was one of the biggest transfer sagas of the summer, with the Blues finally prizing him away from Brighton with a £116 million offer.

Liverpool had agreed a deal with the Seagulls for £111m on the final day of the transfer window, but the Blues were given until the last minute to usurp their bid - something they did for a British record fee.

READ: Brighton to BOYCOTT Chelsea after Caicedo and Potter transfers?

Caicedo joined a crowded midfield at Stamford Bridge, which also included Enzo Fernandez, Conor Gallagher and now Romeo Lavia, but he never had any doubts about his destination of choice.

"£116million, equivalent to €133million," Caicedo's agent Andrea Pellegatti said when asked to conform Caicedo's fee, before turning to the player's reasoning. "The amount paid is no accident.

Chelsea's long-term interest

"It was finalised in the last few hours, but the boy only wanted Chelsea, who had started to express their interest in a consistent manner since January."

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The Blues consistent interest in the player appears to have been key, although cynics might also point out that the Ecuadorean has an unprecedented level of security having signed an eight-year contract.

He is Chelsea's fourth transfer from Brighton since Todd Boehly took charge of the club, following Graham Potter, Marc Cucurella and Robert Sanchez.

Of those, Potter has already left, while Cucurella has been deemed surplus to requirements under Mauricio Pochettino this season.

Caicedo has thus far struggled to impress in Chelsea's engine room, with two of his three Premier League appearances ending in defeats to West Ham and Nottingham Forest.

His Chelsea career is still young, though, and he retains an ETV of €73.1m (£63.5m) per FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm