EPL: Moises Caicedo unveiled as a Chelsea player
Chelsea have completed the signing of the midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton in a deal worth a British record £115m.
The Blues had made Caicedo their primary transfer target and have been trying to strike a deal for his services all summer. However, Liverpool appeared to have stolen a march in the race for the 21-year-old’s signature after submitting a £111m offer prior to Sunday’s Premier League meeting between the two sides.
But after Caicedo made it clear that he had no interest in moving to Anfield, Chelsea returned to Brighton with a proposal to get the Ecuadorian footballer. The London club broke their own record for the most expensive signing in British football history, overtaking the amount they paid to sign Enzo Fernandez in the January window.
Speaking to the club website, Caicedo said;
“I am so happy to join Chelsea! I am so excited to be here at this big club and I didn’t have to think twice when Chelsea called me, I just knew I wanted to sign for the club. It’s a dream come true to be here and I can’t wait to get started with the team.”
This adds to Brighton’s record of making significant profits in their transfer business. This summer, they sold Alexis Mac Allister, bought for about £7m, to Liverpool for £35m and last summer Chelsea paid £55m, rising to a possible £62m for Marc Cucurella, a £15.5m signing.
Chelsea’s coup in signing Caicedo means they have spent over $1 billion in player transfer fees since the new ownership led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital completed their takeover of the club in May 2022.
As many as 12 players have left Chelsea on permanent deals while Caicedo joins other close-season recruits such as Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi, Nicolas Jackson, Lesley Ugochukwu, goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and Angelo.
