Liverpool has contacted Brighton about a possible transfer for Moises Caicedo in an attempt to sabotage Chelsea’s pursuit of the midfielder.
Since Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kante, and Mason Mount all left Stamford Bridge this summer, Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has been trying to sign mid fielders. But it looks like his attempt to recruit the Ecuadorian has run into trouble.
In the first match of their Premier League campaigns, the Reds take on Pochettino’s team on Sunday. And it appears that Jurgen Klopp is eager to get an advantage over his rivals before the game at Stamford Bridge even begins.
According to reports, Liverpool chiefs have made contact with Brighton over a deal for Caicedo. The Blues have already had a number of offers for the 21-year-old rejected by the Seagulls, who are holding firm on their £100 million valuation.
The international player from Ecuador has made it plain that he wants to transfer to Stamford Bridge, even missing practise earlier this week. Romeo Lavia of Southampton has been a target for the Reds, but they haven’t been able to persuade the Saints to sell him as of yet.
The former Manchester City player was also the subject of a £48 million bid from Chelsea, but this deal was also declined. After Jordan Henderson and Fabinho left Liverpool in separate transactions, Klopp has been actively seeking replacements for the midfield position.
The contact over Caicedo may ultimately enable Brighton to increase Chelsea’s price while persuading Southampton to lower their estimate for Lavia.
After reaching an agreement on the deal that saw Alexis MacAllister move to Anfield, Liverpool and the Seagulls enjoy a solid working relationship at the board level.
Commenting ahead of the opening day clash with Chelsea, the Liverpool boss said “With the physical state, I am really happy; we looked really fresh and really good. Now, in the next five or six days, we have to find a formation for the Chelsea game, not for the whole season, and then we go from there.
“[Mac Allister] is a top-class player, on the ball and without the ball. We had our moments where we were a bit too open; that’s clear, but we are not used to it. That’s why I said we had to work on it. We will do that. We have to try it and test a couple of different things.
“There is some football stuff we have to do and maybe have to sort, definitely. But that’s normal. The pre-season never ends after the first Premier League game. It always lasts at least until the first international break.
“After that, we should be in a different position; that’s clear. We have to use these full weeks without international football, which is what we will do. We could, especially in Germany, train a lot on the physical part and on the tactical stuff, and that’s really helpful”.
