Chelsea are reportedly on the cusp of completing a deal to sign Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo for a record-breaking £115m fee.
The 21-year-old has been at the centre of a whirlwind transfer saga over the past 48 hours, as Liverpool and Chelsea have engaged in a fierce head-to-head for his signature.
Chelsea had already failed with two bids for Caicedo before Brighton opened a bidding war on Thursday night, which saw Liverpool enter the fray with a bid of approximately £110m.
Having apparently been given encouragement that Caicedo would be open to a move to Anfield, the Reds agreed a fee with Brighton, which was confirmed by Jurgen Klopp in Friday's press conference.
However, as the Reds were preparing to welcome the Ecuador international to Merseyside for his medical, Caicedo allegedly informed Klopp's side that he had his heart set on joining Chelsea this summer.
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The Ecuador international is supposedly honouring an agreement over personal terms with Chelsea, which have been in place for some time, and Liverpool could now walk away from negotiations following their failed attempt at a hijack.
According to The Telegraph, Chelsea are now set to bring the protracted tussle to an end with a mammoth £115m deal including add-ons, and the Blues are now thrashing out the final terms of the transfer.
Should a deal go through, Caicedo will become the most expensive player in British football history, surpassing the £106m that Chelsea paid to bring Enzo Fernandez to the club from Benfica in January.
Furthermore, the midfielder's move to Stamford Bridge would also break the record for the highest transfer fee between two British clubs, currently held by Declan Rice's £105m move to Arsenal from West Ham United only a few weeks ago.
Since Chelsea's takeover by Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali's consortium, the Blues have handed out significant long-term contracts to their new recruits to help structure their payments in line with Financial Fair Play rules.
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New legislation has since come into effect from UEFA, meaning that clubs can only amortise a player's transfer fee over five years, but Caicedo is still thought to have agreed terms on an eight-year contract with an option until 2032.
Caicedo has scored two goals and set up three more in 53 matches for Brighton since arriving from Independiente del Valle in 2021, playing a key role in helping the Seagulls achieve Europa League qualification last season.
The South American memorably took to social media to try to force an exit in January amid interest from Arsenal, but the Seagulls blocked his potential departure before tying him down to fresh terms until 2027.
However, Caicedo was not involved in Brighton's opening 4-1 win over Luton Town on Saturday amid his impending move to Chelsea, who have also apparently made a bid of £55m for Southampton's Romeo Lavia.
The Blues were also believed to have triggered a £20m release clause in the contract of Leeds United midfielder Tyler Adams, but the Blues have cooled their interest in the American while they prioritise the signing of Caicedo.
Ben Knapton
