Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion have reached an agreement over the transfer of Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo, manager Jurgen Klopp said today as the Premier League club take a step in the right direction to address their glaring lack of depth in midfield.
21-year-old Caicedo has been hotly linked with a move away from the Amex Stadium after turning in impressive performances at Brighton, making 37 appearances for the club last season as they emerged sixth and secured European football for the first time.
Notably the Ecuadorean has attracted interest from several clubs in the close season window with keen suitors like Chelsea, despite reports in British media on Friday saying Liverpool had agreed a deal worth £111 million with Brighton.
“I can confirm the [Caicedo] deal with the club is agreed, whatever that means in the end. Of course, we want the player and not just the agreement,” Klopp told reporters ahead of Sunday’s season-opener at Chelsea.
“We don’t have endless resource. We didn’t expect a couple of things to happen over the summer but when that happened we gave it a go. Let’s see what happens and we go from there.”
Once the deal is sealed, Caicedo’s reported transfer fee would make him the most expensive player signed by a British club, surpassing the £107 million Chelsea paid for Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez earlier this year.
Interestingly, when speaking about Manchester United’s then world record signing of Paul Pogba for £89.3 million in 2016, Klopp had said then that he would approach transfer spending differently if the same resources were readily at his disposal. So, this time around when asked how he felt about those words he had uttered following the agreement for Caicedo, the unflappable German said:
“Everything changed. Do I like it? No. Did I realise I was wrong? Yes.
“I’m not blaming anyone but it’s just the market. In the end, we as a club have to make sure that, with our resources, we get the best possible player.
“We aren’t in a dreamland and can’t just point at a player and get them to come in. Sometimes one door closes and another opens up.”
The latest development in a major overhaul at Anfield following a disappointing campaign culminating in a major exodus of midfielders Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Milner and Naby Keita, Caicedo’s potential signing is indicative of another hopefully positive step taken in the right direction to address the situation.
Meanwhile, Liverpool have signed 24-year-old Argentina World Cup-winner Alexis Mac Allister and Hungary captain Dominik Szoboszlai, 22, to bolster their midfield.
“We have a new start with this Liverpool FC reloaded — it’s an exciting thing,” Klopp said. “People wanted changes because we’d been together for a long time.
“Did it happen at the right moment? That’s difficult to answer. But now it happened and that’s good.”
While the news surrounding Caicedo is currently dominating the headlines, Klopp stressed that the transfer would not in any way overshadow their game against Chelsea, adding that he expected the west London club to be dangerous opponents under new manager Mauricio Pochettino.
“Pochettino is a very good manager. You can see Pochettino’s play already in that team. We know what he does from Tottenham and you can see similarities,” Klopp said of the ex-Spurs boss.