Chelsea and Brighton have reached a record-breaking £115 million contract for midfielder Moises Caicedo.
According to reports, the Blues will pay a base sum of £100 million plus £15 million in performance-based bonuses.
Brighton has given Caicedo permission to visit Chelsea for a medical, which is scheduled to happen today. The midfielder will commit to an eight-year deal with an additional year’s option.
As part of the $115 million deal to sell Caicedo, Brighton will have a sell-on provision that has been called “significant.”
The Blues will pay £100m up front for the midfielder, with £15m in add-ons.
Half of the add-ons have been described as “quite easily achievable”, while the other half are considered “much harder” to achieve.
Caicedo and Liverpool had an agreement in place for a £111 million transfer earlier this week, but the deal fell through after the 21-year-old told the club he wanted to join Chelsea.
Caicedo had been scheduled for a medical trip to Liverpool on Friday after Jurgen Klopp’s team had a bid approved by Brighton after a deadline for bids on Thursday at midnight.
However, the Ecuadorian international had a change of heart and informed Liverpool that he did not want to join after the Reds’ 1-1 Premier League draw at Chelsea on Sunday.
“I’m desperate for him to come to Liverpool as the need for him there is probably greater,” said Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher. “It’s going to be a big blow.”
Caicedo instead remained in London and made it clear he only wanted to leave Brighton for Chelsea, who have been pursuing him all summer.
The £115m fee eclipses the £106.8m Chelsea paid for Enzo Fernandez when breaking the British-record transfer fee in January. Arsenal spent £105m on Declan Rice earlier in the summer.
Chelsea want to sign two midfielders this summer, with the west Londoners also close to an agreement with Southampton over the signing of Romeo Lavia, who remains a Liverpool target, too.
