Moisés Caicedo has made a transfer request to Brighton amid an ongoing Chelsea pursuit. Bruno Guimarães has made a contract admission.
The transfer market is always subject to the domino effect, but Liverpool have rarely been hit so hard. Saudi Arabia has been a major catalyst and competitor activity in the market is becoming increasingly important.
The sale of Fabinho in particular has put Liverpool in the market for a specialist defensive midfielder and completed transfers have placed the odds for such a player extremely high.
Declan Rice’s decision seems to have set a benchmark of sorts – or so Brighton thinks so, as the club are expecting a huge sum to sell Moisés Caicedo to Chelsea.
Caicedo has now submitted an application to the club’s hierarchy, but it seems inevitable that a huge fee will be required to remove him from the AMEX.
Meanwhile, Liverpool are trying to secure a slightly cheaper deal for Romeo Lavia but will have to look over their shoulder in the process.
It’s hard to quantify Bruno Guimarães’ worth after a stellar first season in the Premier League that drove Liverpool and other top clubs crazy. Interestingly, however, the Brazilian recently admitted doubts over his contract.
It’s deja vu again. As in January, Caicedo would like a transfer away from Brighton but the selling club still have all the cards in hand.
In fact, Brighton’s hand have even gotten stronger since the winter transfer window, as Caicedo agreed to a new deal during that time.
Even though the bidder is different this time – Chelsea instead of Arsenal – the result will be the same unless the money is paid.
However, Caicedo tried to force the issue, according to The Times, by asking Brighton to lower its asking price by $128m (£100m/€116m). The situation is a source of ‘growing frustration’ for the player, who wants to leave.
Liverpool may be hoping a deal is reached, with Chelsea maintaining a “firm interest” in Reds target
