Brighton have decided that they only want to sell Moises Caicedo to Liverpool, and will reject any move from Chelsea.
The Reds are in the endgame of signing Caicedo, having had an enormous bid accepted by Brighton. But after revelations that the player only wants to join Chelsea, things are now at a standstill.
And according to Football Transfers, they’ll stay that way until the Ecuador international agrees to join Liverpool. They claim that the Reds have actually been in ‘persistent secret negotiations’ with Brighton recently, and were ‘waiting for the right moment’ to finalise things.
Good news, right? Wrong. His club’s stance is said to have infuriated Caicedo, who is reportedly ‘holding firm’ that he’ll only join Chelsea. To that end, the 21-year-old is claimed to have informed Liverpool he has no interest in a move to Anfield.
Nevertheless, Brighton’s position apparently remains. They’re said to be keen to do business with Liverpool and only Liverpool owing to their strong relationship with the Reds.
A new name has been linked with a move to St James’ Park over the past 24 hours, as reports in South America have revealed our interest in Watford sensation Yaser Asprilla.
This comes from Colombian outlet Antena 2, who state that Newcastle have emerged as a ‘real option’ to sign the 19-year-old this summer.
They report that the attacking midfielder is willing to ‘force a move’ away from Vicarage Road should a ‘firm offer’ arrive, with Brighton, Newcastle, Real Sociedad and Porto all credited with serious interest in the highly-rated teenager.
Asprill – who is NOT related to former Mag Tino Asprilla – has one goal in three senior caps for Colombia and racked up an impressive 39 appearances for Watford last season.
With Dan Ashworth aiding Brighton’s recruitment drive in South America during his time at the Amex and Newcastle on the lookout for some of the world’s best emerging talent, a move for the midfielder could make sense.
Brighton and Caicedo hit stalemate.
This is quite a handy summary of where we currently find ourselves in the Moises Caicedo saga. The Ecuadorian seems to want Chelsea, but his club do not.
That’s a remarkable position to be in when there’s over £100m on the line. Unfortunately for Liverpool, it’s hard to see how they come out of this one on top.
Chelsea are possibly hoping that Caicedo’s stance will push Brighton into accepting a lower fee. With the player refusing to go anywhere else, that’s maybe a reasonable assertion.
But the world of football knows that the Seagulls will not relent to that kind of pressure. Unless Liverpool’s offer is bettered, they’ll happily keep Caicedo until it is.
In the meantime, Liverpool can get to work on convincing the player that he should move to Anfield, not that that should need doing in the first place.
That might be where this story eventually goes, apart from one little detail.
Reports from earlier today have indicated that Chelsea actually would be open to offering more than Liverpool have. If they offer more, and Caicedo only wants the Blues, how can Brighton refuse? End this before it gets ugly.
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