Chelsea and Brighton have reached a historic agreement, with the London club agreeing to pay a British record fee of £115 million for the acquisition of midfielder Moises Caicedo.
The terms of the deal involve an initial payment of £100 million, along with an additional £15 million contingent upon performance-related achievements.
Brighton has granted Caicedo permission to undergo a medical examination with Chelsea, which is scheduled to take place today.
Upon completion of the medical, Caicedo will commit to an eight-year contract, which also includes the possibility of extending for an extra year.
As part of the comprehensive £115 million transfer agreement, Brighton secures a significant sell-on clause.
The payment structure comprises £100 million upfront for the midfielder, coupled with the remaining £15 million in add-ons.
Of the additional payments, fifty percent are deemed easily attainable, while the remaining fifty percent are characterized as more challenging objectives.
Liverpool had previously arranged a £111 million deal to secure Caicedo’s services, but the proposed move fell apart when the 21-year-old expressed his intention to join Chelsea instead.
Initially slated to undergo a medical examination with Liverpool, Caicedo opted for a change of heart, informing the Merseyside club of his desire to decline the offer.
Despite Liverpool’s pursuit and the potential for his talents at Anfield, Caicedo remained steadfast in his preference to join Chelsea, a club that had been pursuing him throughout the summer transfer window.
The record-breaking fee of £115 million surpasses Chelsea’s previous British record transfer expenditure of £106.8 million, which was spent on securing Enzo Fernandez’s services in January. In the same vein, Arsenal also made a substantial investment of £105 million in Declan Rice earlier this summer.
Chelsea’s ambitions in the transfer market extend beyond Caicedo, as the club is actively seeking to bolster their midfield ranks. Alongside the deal for Caicedo, Chelsea is on the verge of finalizing an agreement with Southampton regarding the acquisition of Romeo Lavia. Interestingly, Lavia remains a target for Liverpool as well.