Moises Caicedo has been heavily linked with a move to Chelsea for a while now, but Liverpool have made a late attempt to hijack the deal
Liverpool have been dealt a major blow to their hopes of signing Moises Caicedo. The 21-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to Chelsea this summer as Mauricio Pochettino looks to bolster his midfield, but Jurgen Klopp seems intent on hijacking the deal.
football.london understands that the Blues remain confident they can still sign Caicedo despite the Reds agreeing a £110million deal with Brighton. It’s believed that the Ecuador international hasn’t agreed personal terms with Liverpool yet despite the Merseyside outfit preparing for his arrival at the AXA Training Centre.
While Chelsea are yet to send the Seagulls an improved offer, they intend to do so, with Caicedo’s heart set on a move to Stamford Bridge. Earlier this summer, he voiced his desire to join the west Londoners, describing the club as a ‘very big, historic, beautiful team.
In fact, the Ecuadorian is so eager to begin working under Pochettino that he’s reportedly reached out to several high-profile Blues players. According to TheSecretScout, Caicedo has told a number of Chelsea stars: “I will see you soon.”
Speaking to the press on Friday ahead of Chelsea’s clash with Liverpool, Klopp confirmed that Liverpool agreed a deal with Brighton for Caicedo. The Reds boss said: “We want the player and not any kind of agreement.
“What did change is we are a club, we don’t have endless resources. We didn’t expect a couple of things to happen this summer; [Jordan Henderson, Fabinho] – stuff like this. We gave it a go and we will see. I’ve told you now what I know.”
“It’s caught the owners out. They haven’t got the money to compete, I think it’s shocked them the market. You know, the [Jude] Bellingham deal, £100-odd-million, [Declan] Rice £100-odd-million, [Enzo] Fernandez £100-odd-million, [Moises] Caicedo £100m.
“I think they’re at that £50m, £60m and they’re comfortable there, but I think they’ve hit the point where at they’ve hit the ceiling and they’re at a lower level than the other four, five clubs. It’s going to come and hit them like a ton of bricks at some point.”
Then, Neville was questioned on how much longer Klopp will continue to defend Liverpool’s spending choices. He added: “The manager, at some point, is going to wake up in the morning and go… because he’s shielding them, there’s no doubt.
“He’s done an unbelievable job, the best job of anybody I believe in the last seven or eight years with the budget that he’s had and the spend that he’s had. But he can’t keep doing it. He can’t keep doing it. He needs that money to be able to go and compete.”
If Chelsea manage to beat Liverpool to Caicedo then Gary Neville fears it could be the beginning of the end for Klopp at Anfield. Speaking on The Overlap, the former Manchester United defender said: “I think with Liverpool – and I have said this before, and it is coming this moment – the last two years, Chelsea have spent huge, Arsenal have spent huge, United have spent huge, City to be fair, are City and I think it’s caught them out.
