Caicedo refused to go to Liverpool
On the afternoon of August 11, Caicedo and the support team remained in London, instead of going to Liverpool to discuss personal terms and medical examination. According to Sky Sports, the 21-year-old midfielder just wants to join Chelsea as originally planned. Before that, Caicedo went to the British capital and reached a personal agreement with Chelsea.
The Guardian reports that Chelsea are preparing to submit a new offer to Brighton. Before that, Brighton had rejected the offer of 127 million USD from the Stamford Bridge team, then accepted 139 million USD from Liverpool. If the transfer is successful, Caicedo will become the most expensive player in English football history. The current record belongs to Arsenal's purchase of Declan Rice from West Ham in July for 137 million.
"I can confirm the team has reached an agreement with Brighton," Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said on the afternoon of August 11. "Of course, we want the player to agree, not just an agreement between two clubs. We don't have unlimited resources."
Initially, Liverpool's main target was seen as Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia. The Merseyside team made three offers for the Belgian player, most recently $ 58 million but was rejected. On August 9, The Athletic reported that Chelsea jumped in to win Lavia and offered $ 61 million with additional fees, close to what Southampton wanted - 63 million.
This may be one of the reasons why Liverpool turned to Caicedo and "broken" Chelsea in this deal. According to Sky Sports, Liverpool highly appreciate Caicedo, and think that the possibility of signing him is not very bright, but they still want to try even if it fails.
Caicedo has long expressed his desire to leave with Brighton. Five days ago, the 21-year-old midfielder emptied his locker at the Amex Stadium and did not return. Brighton is said to have promised Caicedo a move to Chelsea, but wants to collect at least $127 million in transfer fees.
Caicedo then went to London to wait to complete his Chelsea move. However, Liverpool's intervention caused the situation to reverse.
If an individual agreement is reached, Caicedo will be Brighton's second central midfielder to join Liverpool in the summer of 2023. Before that, the Anfield team bought world champion Alexis Mac Allister for $ 55 million. This duo will replace Jordan Henderson - Fabinho - a pair of pillars who have just left Anfield to go to Saudi Arabia to play football.
Caicedo was the top defensive midfielder in the Premier League last season with the second most tackles and cuts in the league. Other parameters such as winning the ball in the middle of the field, his successful touch and pass are all in the top 10. Chelsea considers the Ecuador international as a worthy successor to the position left by N'Golo Kante.
