Carragher weighs in on Liverpool 'mess' after Caicedo transfer pursuit
Jamie Carragher has weighed in on the “mess” surrounding Liverpool target Moises Caicedo as Chelsea edge towards winning the battle for him.
The Reds are going head-to-head with their Premier League rivals for the right to sign the Ecuadorian midfielder. Chelsea have been chasing him since January and have lodged numerous bids for his services.
Liverpool have attempted to hijack their move over recent days after agreeing a stunning £115m deal with his current employers Brighton. However, Caicedo has thrown a spanner into the works by confirming that he would prefer a move to Stamford Bridge instead of Anfield.
The ball is now firmly in the Blues court to see whether they match Liverpool’s latest offer. Carragher has given his view on the situation and suggested that the Reds’ move for Caicedo goes against their previously swift and efficient work in the transfer market.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the Liverpool icon said: “Liverpool I think for a long time have had the best structure in terms of getting transfers done and getting it over the line. Even in this window and going back to January: Cody Gakpo was just announced. There was no real sort of build-up.
Chelsea complete record-breaking Enzo Fernandez transfer after deadline day rush“Szoboszlai, there was talk the day before that he was going to come in, and it was done the next day. And you know Liverpool it seems to me, they’ve got a deal done with the club, they haven’t really got a deal done with the player and that’s just not right.
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“How anyone now agrees a fee with a club and then can’t get a deal over the line with a player, that’s just not the right thing to do. You don’t put a bid in unless you know the player’s going to come.
“It just feels like how Liverpool have done business over the last five or six years under Jurgen Klopp and it just feels like a bit of a mess. It’s a little bit of a panic because Liverpool have to buy someone now between now and the end of the window to fill that position. Everyone knows that and it just leaves them in a bit of a precarious position.”
Caicedo is not the only major midfield transfer target that Liverpool are competing with Chelsea for. Both sides are interested in signing Southampton star Romeo Lavia.
Liverpool have been keen on signing the Belgian for the majority of the transfer window but are yet to have a bid accepted by the Saints. Chelsea have recently entered the race for him and a move now appears close.
Southampton boss Russell Martin said of Lavia’s future: “He has been great while his situation has rumbled on for a long time.
"That needs to draw to a conclusion quickly for him, for us and for everyone really. It’s eeking slowly towards a conclusion and I think we have been preparing for life without him for the six weeks we’ve been here so it’s not a massive drama."