Chelsea has reportedly reached an agreement with Brighton & Hove Albion for the acquisition of Ecuadorian midfielder Moises Caicedo in a £115 million deal.
The transfer fee is set to exceed the previous record of £105.8m that Chelsea paid to Benfica for Enzo Fernández in January.
The 21-year-old is set to undergo medical on Monday at Chelsea’s facilities, with the deal expected to be finalized on the same day.
Caicedo will agree to an eight-year deal until 2031, with the possibility of a one-year extension until 2032.
Liverpool made a surprising bid of £110 million for Caicedo, which Brighton duly accepted.
Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp confirmed that a deal had been agreed upon but remained tight-lipped about medical.
Despite Liverpool reaching an agreement with Brighton, the Ecuadorian player had affirmed his desire to transfer to Stamford Bridge.
READ ALSO: Chelsea and Liverpool Draw in Pochettino’s EPL Return
The sudden competition between Liverpool and Chelsea for the midfielder added an air of intrigue to the transfer drama.
Chelsea had wanted to sign United States international, Tyler Adams, but decided not to sign United him from Leeds as they couldn’t agree on how to pay his £20m release clause.
They chose to use the money for other potential options instead.
Chelsea’s financial muscle comes to the fore in this deal, as they are set to pay £100 million upfront for Caicedo, and £15 million in potential add-ons.
Chelsea’s desire to secure Caicedo’s services is driven by their desire to fill the void left by several departures.
Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kante, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek left the club prompting Chelsea to aggressively seek reinforcements in the midfield.
Chelsea had wanted to sign United States international, Tyler Adams, but decided not to sign United him from Leeds as they couldn’t agree on how to pay his £20m release clause, They chose to use the money for other potential options instead.
Earlier on Sunday, Chelsea faced off against Liverpool and played to a 1-1 draw.
Luiz Diaz opened the scoring for Liverpool in the 18th minute of play before debutant defender, Axel Disasi restored parity in the 37th minute.
