Brighton and Hove Albion CEO, Paul Barber has explained the reason Moises Caicedo decided to ditch Liverpool for a move to Chelsea. And he admitted the south coast club was left in a difficult situation.
In an astonishing turn of events, Caicedo turned down a move to Anfield because he was eager to join Chelsea. And Liverpool had just agreed to a British record £111 million deal with Brighton.
After the Reds deal fell through, Brighton immediately started talks with Chelsea and came to reach agreement on a £115 million transfer. Making Caicedo the most expensive acquisition in Premier League history.
Discussing the transfer saga for the first time, Brighton’s Barber told talkSPORT: ‘Liverpool’s a fantastic football club. For any footballer to have the chance to play at Liverpool, you’d imagine that they’d be running up the M6 but it wasn’t to be.
‘Moises and his advisors decided for whatever reason that London was their preferred destination, and ultimately Chelsea.
‘Obviously that puts us in a slightly difficult position because we’ve negotiated a deal, we’d spent many days working with Liverpool. They couldn’t have done anymore, they were superb and professional throughout.
‘But then it comes down to the player. At the point that it was clear he wasn’t going to Liverpool we have to go into a different mode – having negotiated a British record transfer, we have to do it again three days later.’
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Caicedo, who assisted Brighton in making the European competition last season, has committed to an eight-year deal at Stamford Bridge with an additional year’s option.
Under the leadership of new manager Mauricio Pochettino, he joined a Chelsea side that placed just 12th in the Premier League last season.
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