The transfer battle between Chelsea and Liverpool this summer for Moises Caicedo is described as the ‘craziest saga of the summer’ by Fabrizio Romano.
The Ecuadorian was a key target for both the clubs and were involved in a tug of war for him. Liverpool went all in and bid a record £111m for the ex-Brighton man.
Even though Brighton had agreed on the fee, the player had decided to only join Chelsea. Ultimately, Chelsea had to outbid Liverpool and secure the exciting youngster in an already stacked squad for the season.
Caicedo became the most expensive player in Premier League history after he was sold for £115m.
However, he isn’t the only big-money signing in the Chelsea squad. The club’s co-owner, Todd Boehly has spent over £1b in three transfer windows.
Liverpool, on the other hand, put the misery behind them and signed two midfielders for a combined fee of £50m. Klopp will hope that signing Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch will be enough to compete this season.
The Caicedo Liverpool saga: Fabrizio
According to Romano, Liverpool’s pursuit of Caicedo was the most dramatic story of the transfer window. After bidding a record fee, they believed that they had won the race for the Brighton star.
“Caicedo… was probably the craziest saga of the summer, though there were a lot to choose from. He was almost a Liverpool player for maybe 12 hours, as everything was agreed with Brighton.
It was done, they were preparing documents and waiting for the player to travel for medical tests and complete what would have been a club-record signing for Liverpool.
Deal was really close, but then Caicedo decided in a strong way and sent a clear message that he preferred to go to Chelsea.
It was a big surprise because Liverpool were expecting Caicedo to join, and Jurgen Klopp even mentioned the deal being close in a press conference.
So to see something like that is unusual in the transfer market and it was not easy to report on for those 48 hours.”
Hence, it is now to be seen if the Ecuadorian would live up to his £115m price tag at Chelsea. But it’s sure that he would be a key player for the Blues in the future as he’s just 21.
I’m a football enthusiast and an avid writer and someone who lives by the Bill Shankly quote, on a day to day basis.
