Chelsea are fighting to salvage their move for top transfer target Moises Caicedo after Liverpool agreed a £111million deal with Brighton for the midfielder.
Brighton held an auction for Caicedo on Thursday night with a midnight cut-off point and Liverpool were the highest bidders.
Chelsea bid £100m and they were left scrambling to save a deal for their No1 summer transfer target.
Caicedo had been pushing to join Chelsea and was in London this week ahead of a proposed move to Stamford Bridge.
But Liverpool have made a last-ditch move to hijack their deal, swoop for the 21-year-old Ecuador international and sign him from under their noses.
Losing out on Caicedo would be a major blow for Chelsea, who desperately need to strengthen their midfield after losing Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek this summer.
Chelsea have agreed a £20m deal to sign Tyler Adams from Leeds but Mauricio Pochettino wants another midfielder on top of that deal.
The Blues could be forced to switch their focus to Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia. They had a £48m bid rejected on Wednesday but could strike a deal with Southampton.
Everton’s Amadou Onana is another alternative, having been sounded out earlier in the summer.
Brighton have already sold Caicedo’s midfield partner Alexis Mac Allister to Liverpool, who face Chelsea in a blockbuster clash at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Liverpool’s deal for Caicedo would be a British transfer record.
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