Chelsea appeared poised to land the Ecuador international but Liverpool stormed to the front of the queue with a British record bid of €127 million (£110m) as the Seagulls held a late-night auction for the 21-year-old.
Soccerhuz.com exclusively revealed that Brighton never wanted to strike a deal with the Blues and preferred the player to go to Anfield due to the strong relationship they have with Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Caicedo, though, only wanted to move to Chelsea and knocked back Liverpool’s offer, with the rising star furious with his employers over the situation.
Chelsea confident for Caicedo deal
Football transfer news expert Romano has now revealed the state of play as the deal hangs in the balance.
“Understand Chelsea are now in contact with Brighton to discuss their new bid for Moisés Caicedo. Talks on,” Romano tweeted.
Liverpool, prepared to walk away from the deal.”
Shortly afterwards, he added: “Chelsea are increasingly confident to get Caicedo deal done on Saturday – after positive talks with Brighton tonight [Friday] and more to follow in the next hour
“Official bid on Saturday won’t be less than Liverpool’s £110m bid
“Chelsea’s dream remains clear: Moises at the Bridge on Sunday.”
He later said: “Crucial, final day ahead. Caicedo also tonight has been clear with Brighton as he was with Liverpool around lunch time: he wants to be sold to Chelsea.”
The Premier League deadline has past for Caicedo to feature on the opening day of the season, which features Liverpool visiting Chelsea in what promises to be a spicy encounter.
The Blues, though, want to parade Caicedo in front of the Stamford Bridge crowd before the match, which would surely only ignite the atmosphere in what is already guaranteed to be a must-watch game.
