It’s been reported that Liverpool have joined Chelsea in the race to sign Moises Caicedo.
On Wednesday, The Athletic claimed that Brighton received a bid from an unnamed Premier League club believed to be higher than the Blues’ most recent offer of £80m, although the Seagulls seemingly want at least £100m for him.
Football Insider have seemingly suggested that the anonymous approach could’ve come from the Reds, who have reportedly made contact with the south coast club to register their interest in the £60,000-per-week midfielder (FBref).
Their report added that Liverpool had dismissed Caicedo as a viable transfer target earlier in the summer, and that the 21-year-old had already agreed personal terms with Chelsea, but the landscape may now have changed.
It’d be a surprise to us if the mystery bid of £80m+ came from Liverpool, considering that we’ve offered only half of that for another one of last season’s standout Premier League defensive midfielders in Romeo Lavia.
Southampton’s asking price of £50m for the 19-year-old is substantially lower than what Brighton want for Caicedo, so if they’re baulking at meeting the Saints’ valuation, it’s hard to imagine FSG pushing the boat out for a positional peer who’d cost twice as much.
It must be said that the Ecuador international was one of the bedrocks of the Seagull’s unexpected sixth-place finish last term, with his excellent average of 2.7 tackles per game exceeding everyone in Jurgen Klopp’s squad at Anfield (WhoScored).
Former Reds player Don Hutchison has been wowed by him to the extent that he’s claimed Liverpool ‘could win’ the Premier League if they add the 21-year-old to their existing pick of players, saying ‘he is that good’.
It’d probably take more than Caicedo to transform us into a team who could genuinely challenge Manchester City this season, and in any case it seems highly unlikely that FSG would stump up for Brighton’s asking price.
Still, it’d be one of the captures of the summer of LFC somehow pull it off!
#Ep83 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones
Sounds like Southampton and Brighton are doing a little price gouging with the asking prices set for Lavia and Caicedo.