Moises Caicedo is now set to move to Liverpool (NurPhoto via Getty)
Liverpool are set to beat Chelsea in the race to sign Moises Caicedo after their £110 million bid was accepted by Brighton late on Thursday evening.
Chelsea have seen multiple offers for the 21-year-old, including a bid of £80 million last week, rejected by Brighton this summer.
Brighton have been demanding a minimum of £100m for Caicedo, believing that the Ecuador international should command a fee similar to the £105m Arsenal paid to sign Declan Rice from West Ham.
Chelsea, however, have been unwilling to meet Brighton’s asking price and were dealt an initial scare on Wednesday when it emerged that Liverpool had made an approach to sign Caicedo.
According to The Athletic, Brighton held an auction with a midnight deadline on Thursday and Liverpool succeeded with their £110m offer. Chelsea are said to have put forward a proposal worth £100m.
Caicedo is yet to agree to a move to Liverpool but The Athletic reports that personal terms are expected to be a ‘formality’. Liverpool have also scheduled a medical for Friday.
Chelsea failed with multiple offers to sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton (Getty)
Caicedo, who wanted to join Arsenal in the January transfer window but the Gunners failed with a £70m bid, was said to favour a move to Chelsea this summer.
The midfielder was absent for Brighton’s 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday due to a hamstring injury and also missed Monday’s training session in an apparent move to force a transfer.
It’s understood that Caicedo was also in London on Thursday as Chelsea were expected to finally reach an agreement with Brighton.
However, Liverpool are now on the brink of signing another key component for their midfield revamp.
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Earlier this summer, Liverpool signed Alexis Mac Allister in a £35m deal from Brighton before triggering the £60m release clause in Dominik Szoboszlai’s contract with RB Leipzig.
Liverpool have also targeted Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia but their latest offer of £45m was rejected by the Championship club this week.
Chelsea have since submitted a £48m bid but that also falls short of Southampton’s £50m asking price.
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Chelsea’s bid was not high enough as Brighton set an auction deadline on Thursday evening.