Liverpool agree British record fee with Brighton for Moisés Caicedo

Liverpool have reached an agreement with Brighton and Hove Albion to sign Ecuadorian midfielder Moisés Caicedo for a British record fee worth £111 million.

It has been widely reported that the Reds formally submitted their proposal late on Thursday night after Caicedo indicated his willingness to move to Anfield after having seen his highly anticipated move to Chelsea hit a snag.

According to Sky Sports, once Liverpool formally made contact with the Seagulls, the south coast club held an auction for the Ecuadorian with a deadline at midnight on Friday morning.

The Reds ultimately came out as the highest bidders after battling it out with both Chelsea and Bayern Munich. It's understood that the Blues' highest bid was £100 million, while the German side bid £90 million.

Brighton, who signed Caicedo for just £4.5 million from Independiente del Valle in 2021, will also benefit from having a sell-on clause inserted into the deal.

A change of direction

Until yesterday, Chelsea, who had been pursuing the 21-year-old all summer, looked clear favourites to sign Caicedo. However, Liverpool officially entered the race late on - having seemingly grown frustrated in their pursuit of Southampton's Roméo Lavia - and appear to have hijacked the deal.

If the deal is completed, it will be a new club record transfer, overtaking Virgil van Dijk's £75-million move to Merseyside from Southampton in January 2018.

A move would see Caicedo reunite with former Brighton teammate Alexis Mac Allister who signed for Jürgen Klopp's side in May for £35 million.