Chelsea have completed the signing of Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo for £100m which could rise to a British record fee of £115m.
But Caicedo’s preference was Chelsea and they finally succeeded with a bid on Sunday evening after having a succession of offers rejected.
“I didn’t have to think twice when Chelsea called me, I just knew I wanted to sign for the club,” Caicedo said.
More to follow.
Brighton had set a fee in excess of £100m for Caicedo this summer and said they felt no-one would reach it. Chelsea are believed to have bid £80m previously.
In his news conference before the Seagulls’ game against Luton, manager Roberto de Zerbi said he had “already forgotten” about Caicedo, adding: “Bigger clubs can buy our players but they can’t buy our soul or spirit.”
Caicedo joined Brighton from Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle for £4m in February 2021, although he did not make his Premier League debut until April 2022.
He asked to leave Brighton in the January transfer window earlier this year and Arsenal had multiple offers turned down for the midfielder before he signed a new contract until 2027 in March.
Caicedo will be Chelsea’s eighth signing of the summer, following Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson, Lesley Ugochukwu, Angelo Gabriel, Robert Sanchez and Diego Moreira.
New manager Mauricio Pochettino has been tasked with overhauling the squad and vastly improving on last season’s 12th-place finish in the Premier League.
Mateo Kovacic, Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ethan Ampadu, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, Abdul Rahman Baba and former captain Cesar Azpilicueta have all departed so far this summer.
Chelsea opened their Premier League season with a 1-1 home draw against Liverpool on Sunday.
