Caicedo's whirlwind eight months with two transfer snubs and Liverpool U-turn
Moises Caicedo, at last, looks to be leaving Brighton.
Emerging as one of the most coveted young midfielders in world football over the course of last season, the 21-year-old Ecuadorian has been primed for a transfer to Liverpool. It comes after the Reds saw their staggering £110million bid accepted by Brighton, breaking the record for a British transfer after Declan Rice joined Arsenal from West Ham for £5m less last month.
"The fee with the club is agreed," Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp confirmed on Friday morning. "We will see what that means. We aren't a club with endless resources and we didn't expect a couple of things to happen this summer. Then it happened."
But just like the eight months leading up to it, his prospective move to Anfield is proving to be less than straightforward. Let's break down how the midfield prodigy has ridden the transfer rollercoaster and ended up en route on Merseyside - or so it was thought.
January exit drama
Two years after joining Brighton amid strong interest from Manchester United, who were reportedly put off by agents fees before the Seagulls snatched a bargain £4.5m deal, Caicedo decided that he was ready for the next stage of his development. The problem was Brighton didn't agree.
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Flying towards European contention under recently-appointed manager Robert de Zerbi and with plenty of cash in reserve following the lucrative sales of Marc Cucurella, Ben White and Yves Bissouma over the previous 18 months, the Seagulls denied Caicedo's pleas for a move to Arsenal. Chelsea were also interested but it was the Gunners who were installed as frontrunners when the Ecuador international went public with a transfer request.
A statement on Instagram three days before the window closed - saying how he was "proud to be able to bring in a record transfer fee for Brighton - failed to help matters, and ultimately De Zerbi and co kept hold of an unhappy Caicedo, while Arsenal moved for Chelsea linchpin Jorginho. Then came an unexpected development.
Moises Caicedo missed out on a move to Arsenal, despite handing in a transfer request (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)'Committing' his future
On March 3, little over a month after begging Brighton chiefs to accept Arsenal's bid and let him leave the Amex Stadium, Caicedo signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract with the Seagulls. Brighton claimed that their talented technician was committing his "long-term" future to the club, who'd soon reach the FA Cup semi-finals and qualify for the Europa League for the first time in their history.
Yet Caicedo was still open to leaving the south coast, telling the Telegraph : "I'm sure I'm going to have many more opportunities. That's why I continue to do things well. [But] it was tough. At the beginning when I didn't end up going [to Arsenal], lots of people would make fun of me on Instagram. People treated me badly."
Moises Caicedo signed a new long-term deal with Brighton in March (Robin Jones/Getty Images)Chelsea charm offensive
Although it was Arsenal who Caicedo came closest to joining in January, even publicly backing them to win the Premier League, this summer saw Chelsea emerge as the leading contenders for his sought-after signature. With Mauricio Pochettino - a manager famed for developing young players - at the helm, rumours swirled that co-owner Todd Boehly would throw money at Brighton to seal a deal, just as he had done for Cucurella and later boss Graham Potter in 2022.
But as the Blues focussed on other targets, doubts emerged as to whether Caicedo would really end up at Stamford Bridge. That perhaps prompted the player to go on the charm offensive.
Speaking to La Cancha Con Majo before pre-season began, Caicedo said of Chelsea: "It's a big team, that's true. A very historic team and I can't say no because it is a very big, historic, beautiful team. The city as well is beautiful."
And this where things get even crazier.
Moises Caicedo appeared to be pushing for a move to Chelsea before Liverpool swooped (Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)Liverpool U-turn
One thing was for sure at the start of the summer transfer window : Liverpool needed to sign midfielders. Swiftly moving to sign Caicedo's Brighton team-mate, Alexis Mac Allister, and RB Leipzig playmaker Dominik Szoboszlai to bolster their ranks and add creativity in attack, Klopp didn't anticipate a desperate need for a third signing in August.
But when captain Jordan Henderson and fellow midfield stalwart Fabinho were lured by the Saudi Pro League, the Reds realised that they had to bring in a defensive-minded star in order to go into the 2023-24 season with any serious optimism. Highly-rated Southampton starlet Romeo Lavia was quickly identified as Liverpool's top target but three failed bids worth up to £46m left Liverpool fed up of chasing the Belgian.
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Moies Caicedo is now heading to Liverpool in a £110million transfer deal (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images for Premier League)Have your say! Will Moises Caicedo be worth his price tag at Liverpool? Join the debate in the comments section.
That's when Caicedo, who the Reds previously snubbed a move for, came on their radar and Klopp quickly sanctioned a huge British-record bid of £110m which was accepted. That left Chelsea seemingly without hope, turning their attention to Lavia in a stunning turn of events which were about to get even more dramatic.
Going towards Friday lunchtime, everything was pointing towards Liverpool getting the chequebook out and completing the biggest transfer in Premier League history - until a snag. Sky Sports reported that Caicedo was having second thoughts over the move, which he hasn't agreed person terms for, with the suggestion being that he'd prefer to join Chelsea.
Yet the Blues - who the Independent say are confident over a hijack - haven't returned with their own offer, adding to the narrative ahead of Sunday's opening-weekend clash between the two teams at Stamford Bridge. But who will Caicedo be backing?
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