Moises Caicedo has flipped the transfer market on its head. Liverpool swooped in in the middle of the night to agree a deal with Brighton for a stunning British record fee of £110 million for the Ecuadorian.
It was an incredible show of financial might from a club that has become notorious for shrewd business deals in recent years.
What made it even more shocking, was the Reds have had 3 different bids rejected for Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia. The sticking point being the Saints’ £50 million valuation of their star teenager.
Liverpool were hesitant to fork over an additional £5 million to secure his services. Chelsea suddenly came in with a £48 million bid for Lavia of their own.
It was as if this bid suddenly sprung Liverpool into action and they took offense to it. What followed was the historic bid for Caicedo that stunned the footballing world.
Brighton set a midnight deadline Thursday and were clear they’d sell to the highest bidder. This turned out to be Liverpool. They have been rushing to get the documents signed and wanted things signed, sealed and delivered as soon as possible.
Evidently, they did not get it done fast enough as reports came out that Caicedo did not want to abandon his hopes of joining the Blues. Suddenly, the historic move was in jeopardy and as of this writing, things still remain in limbo.
What will be interesting now, is if Chelsea improve their bid and eventually secure Caicedo, what happens to the Reds?
They blew their cover with this massive bid and now clubs know there is some money to be gleaned from the Reds. Does this mean Southampton up their asking price for Lavia? Is the Belgian offended that he could be brushed aside so easily?
These are all tough questions that probably cannot be answered right now. What is clear though is Liverpool do have some funds available, just for the right player.
If they can secure Lavia and another defender, perhaps Goncalo Inacio, the window can still be a success. However, they have definitely lost a bit of leverage in their transfer dealings going forward.
Everyone was excited to see that FSG is capable of spending big when they think it’s right. Hopefully, the Caicedo deal blowing up in their face on a very public stage does not scare them off from such a move in the future.
It’s possible the Ecuadorian has a change of heart and does still join Liverpool. That would be a best case scenario. If he does not, the board cannot lock up the vault again and handcuff themselves.
A defensive midfielder and a defender are both still needed. These just have to happen, regardless of how embarrassed the transfer team might be.
Jurgen Klopp spoke at a press conference this morning admitting he was wrong and that the club needs to splash big money when the moment calls for it.
It has been an absolutely wild few days at Anfield. If the Caicedo deal officially collapses, the Reds need to be swift and aggressive in their response to the drama.
The ruthless manner in which they agreed a deal with Brighton should be their approach to any deals they make the rest of the summer. No more time for games. Liverpool have inadvertently set the market against themselves and now must keep confidence in their ability to bring deals home.
It’s going to be an incredible few days and weeks seeing how everything resolves itself.