Potential English transfer record - Why Chelsea broke the bank for Moisés Caicedo

Brighton midfielder Moisés Caicedo could break the Premier League transfer record. On Monday, Chelsea confirmed that they had beaten out league competitor Liverpool to sign the 21-year-old Ecuadorian national team player. According to David Ornstein from The Athletic, Todd Boehly owned club will pay £115 million (€133m), including £15m (€17.4m) in achievable add-ons plus a sell-on clause. Once bonuses are reached, Caicedo will become the most expensive player in Premier League history. 

It is an incredible turn of events. Liverpool looked set to break the British transfer record on Friday when they reportedly wrapped up a deal to sign the Brighton star. English journalist Chris Williams was first on the news early on Friday morning that Caicedo’s agency Fútbol División had reached a full agreement with Liverpool last winter for a summer transfer and that a resolution with Brighton was just a matter of time. The Athletic then reported that Liverpool had reached an agreement with Brighton on Friday morning for a total package of £110 million (€126 million). The deal would take Liverpool's summer transfer spending to over €200m. 

According to The Athletic, Brighton held an auction for Caicedo on Thursday evening, and Liverpool outbid Chelsea by £10m (€11.5m) to get a deal across the line. However, fresh reports on Friday afternoon then suggested that the player had instead agreed terms with the Stamford Bridge side. With Fabrizio Romano reporting that the player had informed Liverpool that he was not interested in a move to Anfield. Finally, on Monday, Chelsea wrapped up the deal, sending Liverpool back to the drawing board in their attempt to strengthen their midfield. 

The Caicedo deal will break a British record set by Declan Rice earlier this summer. The former West Ham midfielder joined Arsenal in a deal worth up to €123 million. There are more eyewatering numbers involved in that deal. Caicedo will become just the 17th player to move clubs for €100m or more. The 21-year-old Ecuadorian will also become the third midfielder to move for €100m or more this transfer window. The other two are the already mentioned Rice and Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund for an initial €103m in a deal that was announced in May. 

The Caicedo deal underlines the strong value of midfielders on the transfer market. Including Chelsea’s €120m deal for Enzo Fernández, four of the biggest deals during the last two transfer windows included midfielders. The Premier League, in particular, seems to be leading a trend in this category. Liverpool, after all, spent €42m on Caicedo’s former Brighton teammate Alexis Mac Allister. Another high-profile midfielder who moved clubs this summer was Italian Sandro Tonali. Newcastle signed Tonali for €64m from Milan earlier this summer. 

Moisés Caicedo - The numbers behind Liverpool's pursuit of midfielder

One could even make the argument that Chelsea were among the clubs driving the high demand for central midfielders this summer. After all, Boehly has already spent more than €100m for a midfielder when he signed Fernández last January. With Caicedo wrapped up, Chelsea have now spent €357m in the summer transfer window, and almost €1 billion in new players since Boehly was confirmed at the club's new owner one year ago. That is more money than all LaLiga clubs have spent combined this summer. 

It is difficult to keep track on how exactly Caicedo will fit in a squad that includes many incoming and outgoing pieces. But Caicedo could be the counter-point to Fernández, taking up the defensive role and adding much needed steel to Chelsea. After all, the Ecuadorian led the Premier League with 66 fouls last season and was seventh with 270 defensive duels overall. But Caicedo is much more than just a hard-working defensive player. Caicedo was ranked seventh with 2130 passes, and his long pass completion rate of 68.5% ranked him 17th.