The agent of a player who was close to signing for Liverpool in the summer has revealed that Jurgen Klopp personally texted his client to try and bring him to Anfield.
In August, the Reds had agreed a £111m fee to sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton (BBC Sport), but the 21-year-old instead preferred a move to Chelsea, who he swiftly joined for £115m (The Telegraph).
The Ecuador midfielder’s representative Manuel Sierra was speaking to Futbol sin Cassette about the chain of events which ultimately led to the player signing for the Stamford Bridge club, but not before the LFC manager tried to take matters in his own hands.
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The agent said: “Liverpool were always interested in Moisés. Even Klopp wrote to Moisés with Brighton’s permission but we were clear at all times, as long as Chelsea equalled what Liverpool could do with Brighton and, as I say, they surpassed it.
“Liverpool was always interested in Moises. In fact, Klopp texted him with the permission of Brighton but we had it clear at all times, as long as Chelsea matched Liverpool’s offer with Brighton — and they did.
“It was a tough situation. We gave our word to Chelsea but Liverpool came out of nowhere with a more stable project than Chelsea’s, long-term project, and at that time, both Moises and myself, we were dizzy.”
In words which seemed to express regret at snubbing the Reds, Sierra added: “It is very complicated. Imagine that Jurgen Klopp is writing to you, that Liverpool is calling you.
“We are talking about something very big, that is, one of the best teams in the world, just like Chelsea, and with a more established and more stabilised project than what Chelsea have today, which is a very ambitious project with a view to two, three years ahead.”
Only Caicedo can answer for sure as to which club he preferred deep down to join, but Sierra’s startling revelations may suggest that the midfielder’s head could well have been turned by the approach from Klopp.
Whereas the German is closing in on eight years as Liverpool manager, a period which has yielded plenty of tangible success, Chelsea have lurched through four permanent bosses since the beginning of 2021, with the bulk of the Champions League-winning squad from that year having now left the Blues.
However, it’d appear that the Ecuadorian and his agent had already given their word to the west Londoners before the Reds came calling, and once Mauricio Pochettino’s side sent through a superior bid, the matter was settled.
Caicedo hasn’t had the most ideal of starts to his Chelsea career, conceding a penalty on his debut for the club, who find themselves in the bottom half of the Premier League, whereas the Merseysiders are still just two points off the summit despite their controversial defeat to Tottenham last weekend.
Having made four midfield signings of the own during the summer transfer window, Liverpool certainly didn’t wallow in regret to any great degree over the unsuccessful pursuit of the 21-year-old.
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