Jamie Carragher has descibed Liverpool’s bid to sign Moisés Caicedo even before they knew of the player’s willingness to join the club as ‘terrible’.
The Reds have been in limbo over the Ecuadorian after Chelsea were allowed to re-enter the race for the 21-year-old, despite Jurgen Klopp’s side striking a £110m fee with the Seagulls on Friday. It seemed clear that Caicedo would be heading for Anfield at this stage, though this saga then took a dramatic twist later that afternoon.
Reports began to emerge suggesting the midfielder was having ‘second thoughts’ over joining Liverpool and would be waiting for Chelsea to better their rivals’ bid due to his preference of signing for the Londoners. And our chief LFC writer Ian Doyle reported on Sunday night that Chelsea have now agreed a £115m deal with Brighton.
The public nature of this transfer battle is certainly out of character for the Reds, who so often go under the radar with their business, a noticeable change that has left Carragher concerned.
Speaking on Sky Sports, before Liverpool’s 1-1 draw at Chelsea, the pundit said:
“Liverpool, I think for a long time, have had the best structure in terms of getting transfers done and getting it over the line. Even in this window and going back to January, Cody Gakpo was just announced.
“There was no real sort of build-up. Szoboszlai, there was talk the day before that he was going to come in and it was done the next day. Liverpool, it seems to me, they’ve got a deal done with the club but they haven’t really got a deal done with the player – and that’s just not right.
“How anyone now agrees a fee with a club and then can’t get a deal over the line with a player, that’s just not the right thing to do. You don’t put a bid in unless you know the player’s going to come,” continued Carragher.
“It doesn’t look like what Liverpool have been doing for the last five or six years under Jürgen Klopp and it looks a bit confusing. It’s a little bit of a panic when Liverpool need someone now to fill that position before the slots run out. Everyone around them knows it, and it puts them in a slightly dangerous position. ”
