Chelsea have completed the signing of the midfielder Moisés Caicedo from Brighton in a deal worth a British record £115m.
It is the second time in seven months that Chelsea have smashed the British transfer record after paying £106.8m for another midfielder, Enzo Fernández, in the winter window. Caicedo has signed an eight-year contract, with a club option of a further year.
Liverpool had an offer of £111m for Caicedo accepted last Thursday but were unable to convince the player to move to Anfield. The Ecuador international’s preference has always been to join Chelsea, who will pay £100m plus £15m in performance-related add-ons.
Brighton also have a sell-on clause for a player they signed from the Ecuadorian club Independiente del Valle on 1 February 2021 for an undisclosed fee understood to be £4.5m.
Brighton rejected several bids from Chelsea, who made Caicedo their prime target for the defensive midfield position. An offer of £70m was rejected in mid-July and it has taken weeks for a deal to be struck.
The move continues Brighton’s record of making significant profits in their transfer business. This summer, for example, 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.
It’s only ever been Chelsea. pic.twitter.com/LCYf6A2BQr
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 14, 2023
Chelsea are also trying to beat Liverpool to the signing of the Southampton midfielder Roméo Lavia. Liverpool have agreed a £60m deal but the Belgium international would prefer to join Chelsea, who are offering £50m plus add-ons.
Caicedo said: “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.”