It’s official, Ecuadorian midfielder Moises Caicedo is a Chelsea player after penning a 8-year long contract with the London club on Monday August 14.
The £115m transfer fee is a British record and is £4m above the sum Caicedo’s former club Brighton and Hove Albion had earlier accepted from Liverpool FC.
21-year old Caicedo rejected a move to Liverpool FC and instead held out for a transfer to Chelsea FC who have completed the transfer to further boost midfield options available to manager Mauricio Pochettino.
The £115m fee eclipses the £106.8m Chelsea paid for Enzo Fernandez when breaking the British-record transfer fee in January with the £105m Arsenal spent on Declan Rice earlier in the summer, now third on the list.
Despite the arrival of Caicedo, Chelsea are still pushing to sign Southampton’s Romeo Lavia despite Liverpool agreeing a £60m deal for the Belgian.
Like Caicedo, Lavia has turned down a move to Liverpool FC and instead wants to join Chelsea FC.
In a related development, Brighton and Hove Albion have sent a message to their former lad Moises Caicedo following official communication of his transfer to Chelsea FC.
Brighton and Hove Albion wrote ” Good luck to Moises Caicedo, who has completed a permanent move to Chelsea, for undisclosed terms. ”
Technical director David Weir said, “Chelsea are getting one of the top midfielders in the world. Moises has been one of our exceptional players over the past 18 months.
“We’d like to thank him for his performances for us, which helped this team to two record finishes in the Premier League, and we wish him well for the future.”
Chairman Tony Bloom added, “Moises expressed a strong desire to move on, and at that point it was crucial our valuation was met in full.
“I’d like to thank him for his exceptional performances for the club, and I wish him all the best going forward.”
The Ecuador international joined Albion on deadline day of the 2020/21 January transfer window from Independiente del Valle.
Caicedo came through the youth ranks at Ecuadorian top-flight side Independiente before making his first appearance for the club in October 2019.
A year later he made his first senior appearance for his country in a 1-0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification defeat against Argentina.
The midfielder arrived on the south coast having also won the 2020 Under-20 Copa Libertadores with Independiente.
He made his first start for Albion in a Carabao Cup second round match at Cardiff City in August 2021, impressing in central midfield as a young Albion team defeated the Bluebirds 2-0.
Caicedo then joined Beerschot on loan for the first half of the 2021/22 campaign, before being recalled for the second part of the season.
He made his Premier League debut in a 2-1 win over Arsenal in April 2022, impressing as he helped Albion end a run of eight matches without victory.
Last season Caicedo became a key player for Albion under Roberto De Zerbi, missing only one Premier League game as we finished in sixth spot, qualifying for Europe for the first time in the club’s history, ” the Brighton and Hove Albion statement concluded.
