1 year ago
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Chelsea are considered favourites to sign the Ecuadorian international but Liverpool’s interest is real and serious.
Liverpool may not be considered favourites to sign Brighton and Ecuador 21-year-old defensive midfielder Moises Caicedo, but the club’s intentions are serious and signing Brighton’s £100M-rated man would not be beyond the Reds’ financial reach.
That’s the latest in what has been a whirlwind day in the land of transfer rumours, with club-connected journalist Paul Joyce insisting that “funds appear in place” to close the deal if the player is willing to spurn Chelsea’s advances and join Jürgen Klopp’s rebuild.
Chelsea have been attempting to sign Caicedo since the transfer window opened but have so far seen a series of advances below Brighton’s valuation of the player rebuffed while Liverpool have focused their attentions of Southampton 19-year-old Roméo Lavia.
Yesterday, though, Chelsea submitted a £48M bid for Lavia, raising questions as to whether they might have given up on their Caicedo pursuit. That bid was rejected by Southampton, as have three Liverpool bids for the player including a claimed final offer.
Less than 12 hours later, news of Liverpool’s escalated interest in Caicedo became known, and it remains unclear if Chelsea’s bid for Lavia, despite being reported earlier, actually came before or after Liverpool registered their Caicedo interest with Brighton.
With Chelsea having laid groundwork for Caicedo and Liverpool doing the same with Lavia, the safe money remains on the players ending up at the clubs initially seeking to sign them, but if Caicedo signals he is open to Liverpool things could get interesting.
