Liverpool have agreed a British-record transfer fee with Brighton for midfielder Moises Caicedo.
According to Sky Sports, the fee is understood to be worth £110m, with Caicedo set to travel to Liverpool on Friday for a medical. Brighton set a deadline for midnight on Thursday for bids to come in – and provided their valuation was met, they would go with the highest bidder. Liverpool’s offer of £110m was not matched.
It is understood Chelsea were prepared to go to £100m, while Bayern Munich indicated they would pay £90m. Chelsea had long been considered the front-runner for Caicedo, but Liverpool remained in the discussions. This deal would break the club’s transfer record, which stands at £75m for Virgil van Dijk.
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Liverpool are desperate for midfield reinforcements and have earmarked Caicedo as a possible replacement for the likes of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson. The Anfield outfit have made a late attempt to hijack Chelsea’s pursuit of the 21-year-old midfielder.
Brighton reportedly rejected a £75m-plus-add-ons offer from Chelsea last week. Caicedo has supposedly made clear that his preference is to move to Stamford Bridge. Liverpool have a midfield issue to resolve ahead of their Premier League opener, which coincidentally is against Chelsea on Sunday. Romeo Lavia has been targeted but Southampton are sticking to their £50m price tag, with Chelsea also seeing a bid turned down.