Chelsea sign Ecuador's Caicedo from Brighton for British record fee

LONDON :Chelsea have broken the British transfer record for the second time in a year by signing Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton & Hove Albion on an eight-year contract on Monday.

Financial details were not disclosed but British media said Chelsea will pay 115 million pounds ($145.96 million), eclipsing the 106 million pounds record fee the London club paid to sign Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Benfica in January.

"I am so happy to join Chelsea! I am so excited to be here at this big club and I didn't have to think twice when Chelsea called me, I just knew I wanted to sign for the club," Caicedo, 21, said in a statement from the Premier League side.

"It's a dream come true to be here and I can't wait to get started with the team."

Caicedo still had four years to run on his Brighton contract but had told the south-coast club he wished to leave. He was denied a move in January when Arsenal came calling and signed a contract extension in March.

Caicedo was also the subject of a close season tug-of-war between Chelsea and Liverpool, whose manager Juergen Klopp confirmed last week that the Merseyside club had reached an agreement with Brighton over his transfer.

Chelsea had several bids for Caicedo rejected before Liverpool swooped in with their offer but the Ecuadorean decided to move to the west London club managed by Mauricio Pochettino.

Chelsea's coup in signing Caicedo means they have spent over $1 billion in player transfer fees since the new ownership led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital completed their takeover of the club in May 2022.

"Moises expressed a strong desire to move on and at that point it was crucial our valuation was met in full," Brighton chairman Tony Bloom said.

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