Chelsea are set to beat Liverpool to the signing of Moisés Caicedo after agreeing to pay £115m for the Brighton midfielder.
Liverpool, who are trying to strengthen in midfield this summer, had a £110m bid for the Ecuador international accepted on Thursday night and have been trying to persuade him to join them. Chelsea have refused to give up on Caicedo and, after negotiations, are set to break the British transfer record for the second time in six months.
Chelsea, who host Liverpool on Sunday, paid £106.8m for Enzo Fernández in January and want to pair the Argentina midfielder with Caicedo. Sources have stressed that the deal with Brighton is not yet done, with talks over payment structures and add-ons still taking place, but unless there is another twist the 21-year-old will head to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are offering more in wages to Caicedo, who favours them over Liverpool, and are closing in on a £55m deal for Southampton’s Roméo Lavia, also a Liverpool target. A source close to talks said the move for Lavia is separate to the Caicedo deal.
The Nice goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel is meanwhile viewed as a potential replacement for Kepa Arrizabalaga, set to join Real Madrid on a season-long loan.
Madrid have been in the market for a goalkeeper since losing Thibaut Courtois to a serious knee injury. They have beaten competition from Bayern Munich for Arrizabalaga, who favours a return to Spain over a reunion with the former Chelsea manager, Thomas Tuchel.
Their deal for Arrizabalaga does not include an option or obligation for Madrid to make the loan permanent. The 28-year-old has had a mixed time since Chelsea made him the most expensive goalkeeper in the world five years ago, signing him from Athletic Bilbao for £71.6m, and he will hope moving to the Bernabéu revives his career.
Chelsea have already sold the Senegal goalkeeper Édouard Mendy to the Saudi Pro League and need extra goalkeeping cover. They were ready to spend big on a new No 1 at the start of the summer but revised their plans after failing to find a buyer for Arrizabalaga, whose large wages have made him difficult to sell. Mauricio Pochettino settled on a cheaper move for Robert Sánchez, who has joined from Brighton for £25m. Sánchez could start against Liverpool.
