The battle between Chelsea and Liverpool for Moises Caicedo has been described as ‘the craziest saga of the summer’ by transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano.
The Ecuador international was a key target for both clubs but ultimately signed for Chelsea for a new Premier League record fee of £115m.
Caicedo isn’t the only player Chelsea have spent huge money on recently, either, with club co-owner Todd Boehly spending over £1 billion in three transfer windows.
Chelsea’s deal with Brighton for Caicedo came after Liverpool saw a £111m offer accepted for him. The midfielder, however, had already agreed personal terms with the Blues and snubbed a move to Merseyside.
He now looks set to play a key role under Mauricio Pochettino. Caicedo has made two Premier League appearances for the Blues so far.
Liverpool, on the other hand, ended up signing Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch for a combined £50m. Jurgen Klopp will hope that the duo are enough to take his team to the top of the Premier League table again.
Romano: Caicedo was ‘almost a Liverpool player’
According to Romano, Liverpool’s pursuit of Caicedo was the most dramatic story of the transfer window, as they believed that they had won the race for the Brighton star.
“Caicedo… was probably the craziest saga of the summer, though there were a lot to choose from. He was almost a Liverpool player for maybe 12 hours, as everything was agreed with Brighton,” Romano wrote for Caught Offside (via the Liverpool Echo).
“It was done, they were preparing documents and waiting for the player to travel for medical tests and complete what would have been a club-record signing for Liverpool.
“It was really close, but then Caicedo decided in a strong way and sent a clear message that he preferred to go to Chelsea.
“It was a big surprise because Liverpool were expecting Caicedo to join, and Jurgen Klopp even mentioned the deal being close in a press conference.
“So to see something like that is unusual in the transfer market and it was not easy to report on for those 48 hours.”
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if Caicedo will live up to his £115m price tag at Chelsea. At the age of 21, he will be a key player for them for years to come.
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