Chelsea sign Ecuadorian Caicedo from Brighton for a British record fee

LONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters) – Chelsea broke the British transfer record for the second time in a year by signing Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton & Hove Albion on an eight-year deal on Monday.

Financial details were not disclosed, but British media said Chelsea will pay 115 million pounds ($145.96 million), eclipsing the record fee of 106 million pounds the London club paid to sign Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernández from from Benfica in January.

“I’m so happy to join Chelsea! I’m so excited to be here at this great club and I didn’t have to think twice when Chelsea called me, I just knew I wanted to sign for the club,” Caicedo, 21, said in a statementon the side of the Premier League.

“It’s a dream come true to be here and I can’t wait to start with the team.”

Caicedo still had four years left on his Brighton contract, but had told the south coast club that he wished to leave. He was denied a move in January when Arsenal called and signed a contract extension in March.

Caicedo was also the subject of a season-ending tug-of-war between Chelsea and Liverpool, whose manager Juergen Klopp confirmed last week that the Merseyside club had reached a deal with brighton about his transfer.

Chelsea turned down several offers for Caicedo before Liverpool jumped on their offer, but the Ecuadorian decided to move to the west London club led by Mauricio Pochettino.

Chelsea’s coup in signing Caicedo means they have spent more than $1bn in player transfer fees since the new ownership led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital completed their takeover of the club in May 2022.

“Moises expressed a strong desire to move on and it was crucial at the time that our assessment was fully met,” Brighton chairman Tony Bloom said.

‘TOP MIDFIELDER’

Caicedo signed for Brighton in February 2021 for £4.5m and was loaned to Belgian club Beerschot in August of that year. He was recalled to Brighton in January 2022 after 14 appearances for Belgium.

He made his Premier League debut in April last year and scored his first Brighton goal against Manchester United in May.

Last season, under Roberto De Zerbi, Caicedo impressed in Brighton’s midfield, making 37 league appearances and playing a key role alongside Alexis Mac Allister, the World Cup winner from Argentina who moved to Liverpool before the window.

“Chelsea are signing one of the best midfielders in the world. Moises has been one of our exceptional players over the last 18 months,” Brighton manager David Weir said.

Caicedo is one of several close-season recruits for Chelsea, who are trying to rebuild their team with a radical overhaul after finishing 12th in the Premier League last season.

As many as 12 players have left Chelsea on permanent deals, while Caicedo joins other closed-season recruits such as Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi, Nicolas Jackson, Lesley Ugochukwu, goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and Angelo.

Chelsea started the campaign with a 1-1 home draw with Liverpool the weekend and the next visit to West Ham United on Sunday.

($1 = 0.7879 pounds)

Reporting by Rohith Nair and Trevor Stynes; Edited by Ken Ferris

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