Liverpool have reached an agreement with Brighton & Hove Albion over the transfer of Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo, manager Juergen Klopp said on Friday as the Premier League club looks to address their lack of depth in midfield.
Caicedo, 21, has been linked with a move away from the Amex Stadium after impressing at Brighton, making 37 appearances for the club last season as they finished sixth and secured European football for the first time.
The Ecuadorean has attracted interest from several clubs in the close season window, including Chelsea, but reports in British media on Friday said Liverpool had agreed a deal worth $140.91 million with Brighton.
“I can confirm the (Caicedo) deal with the club is agreed, whatever that means exactly in the end. Of course, we want the player and not any kind of agreement, we’ll see,” Klopp told reporters ahead of Sunday’s season-opener at Chelsea.
Caicedo’s reported transfer fee would make him the most expensive player signed by a British club, surpassing the 107 million pounds Chelsea paid for Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez earlier this year. In 2016, when speaking about Manchester United’s then world record signing of Paul Pogba for 89.3 million pounds, Klopp had said he would approach transfer spending differently if he had the same resources at his disposal.
Caicedo’s potential signing is the latest development in a major overhaul at Anfield following a disappointing campaign, with midfielders Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Milner and Naby Keita having left the club. Meanwhile, Liverpool have signed 24-year-old Argentina World Cup-winner Alexis Mac Allister and Hungary captain Dominik Szoboszlai to bolster their midfield.
