Chelsea 'set to beat' Liverpool to Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo in record deal
The Blues are reportedly close to signing their top transfer target, with the Reds now expected to miss out on the Ecuadorian
Chelsea are set to beat Liverpool to the signing of Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo, ESPN have reported.
The two teams played out an entertaining 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and after the match, Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino revealed he was still hoping for more arrivals this month.
Meanwhile, Reds manager Jurgen Klopp said he had "no news at all" concerning Caicedo and that is possibly because Chelsea now appear to be front-runners for the Ecuadorian's signature.
According to ESPN, Chelsea have agreed a £115 million deal with Brighton for the 21-year-old, who is understood to favour a move to the west London club.
Liverpool previously had a bid of around £111m accepted, but with the player's preferred choice Chelsea and the Blues prepared to pay more money up front, the west London outfit are expected to wrap up a deal.
The transfer could even be completed imminently, with a medical set to take place on Monday.
Chelsea are expected to offer the midfielder an eight-year contract, which is line with their recent policy of signing players on long deals to spread out payments.
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If it is confirmed, the transfer will break the Blues' previous record of £105.8m, which they paid to Benfica in January to sign Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
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Having already signed Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson in attack, the Blues have been linked with a sensational swoop for Kylian Mbappe.
The two-time European champions are still trying to offload Romelu Lukaku, though, with the striker thought to favour a move to Juventus.
Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.