Liverpool ‘outbid Chelsea’ for Moises Caicedo after Blues launch Romeo Lavia hijack

Liverpool have outbid Chelsea for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo according to reports. The Blues on Wednesday night tabled a £48million bid for Romeo Lavia after Liverpool saw three offers rejected for the player. And the Reds are now claimed to have submitted a proposal for Caicedo, who is Mauricio Pochettino’s top transfer target.

Like Liverpool with Lavia, Chelsea have had multiple offers rejected for Caicedo in recent weeks. The latest was of £80million, an amount their Merseyside rivals are now said to have bettered.

That’s according to the Daily Telegraph, who add that the 21-year-old ball-winner would still ideally prefer a move to Stamford Bridge despite the Blues’ lack of European football. Either club face forking out a huge figure to get a deal over the line.

It had been thought just 24 hours ago that Chelsea were edging closer to an agreement to land Pochettino’s No 1 target. The Londoners had even been hoping to secure his signature before Sunday, when they face Liverpool in their opening match of the new Premier League campaign.

Brighton are pushing to get £100m for Caicedo after Declan Rice’s £105m move to Arsenal. The Seagulls are renowned for being tough negotiators thanks to owner and chairman Tony Bloom.

The twist in the tale comes after Chelsea submitted a £48m bid for Lavia on Wednesday night. Southampton want £50m for the Belgian and rejected Liverpool’s last bid of £46m. 

It had been suggested the Chelsea move for Lavia might be a ploy to try and force Brighton to lower their price tag for Caicedo. But the proposal for Lavia, which fell just short of Southampton’s valuation, may actually have been in reaction to Liverpool entering the equation for Caicedo. 

The Telegraph also report that Leeds’ Tyler Adams is having a medical to complete a move to Chelsea. Pochettino and co. will activate a relegation release clause in his contract to bring him in to beef up the midfield.

That may mean that it is a case of Caicedo or Lavia for the Blues, rather than both. Ahead of this weekend’s curtain-raising league matches, Pochettino currently only has Enzo Fernandez and Conor Gallagher as senior midfield options. Chelsea have also looked at more attack-minded options like Michael Olise and Mohammed Kudus.

Similarly, Sunday’s opponents Liverpool are light in defensive midfield after letting Fabinho and captain Jordan Henderson leave for Saudi Arabia. They have already signed Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton this summer, while Chelsea have done multiple deals with them including for goalkeeper Robert Sanchez last weekend.