Alan Shearer has blasted Liverpool’s attempts to sign Moises Caicedo – claiming the club should be ‘embarrassed’ by their efforts to land the Brighton midfielder, who is set to join Chelsea.
It follows days of high drama as the Merseyside club had a British record transfer fee of £111million accepted by the Seagulls for the 21-year-old. It had been Chelsea who were long considered to be the frontrunners for Caicedo's signature, but it was the first of many twists.
Brighton had set a deadline on Thursday night for the highest bidder to land Caicedo, whom they had priced at £100m all summer. The Blues had not gone above £80m prior to that deadline, but then accepted the demands of the South Coast club and upped their bid to £100m.
However, that was £11m shy of Liverpool’s bid – with Reds boss Jurgen Klopp confirming on Friday that a deal had been struck with Brighton and it was now in the hands of the player. However, Caicedo has had his heart set on moving to Stamford Bridge – and now that moves now appears set.
Chelsea are set to land the player for a British club record £115m deal - £15m more than Brighton’s initial asking price, and £4m more than Liverpool’s bid. It is a deal that leaves the Reds embarrassed, having missed out on their public target and, furthermore, shown the transfer spending they are capable of.
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Mirror Football understands that Liverpool’s bid for the Ecuador international only came after they received encouragement from the player’s camp, with the suggestion Caicedo would happily join the club if the offer was accepted.
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Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo is wanted by Liverpool and Chelsea (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images for Premier League)Now, Liverpool have missed out on their target and all rival clubs have strengthened their positioning in any negotiations with the Merseyside club due to the bid. Furthermore, they also fear missing out on a deal for Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia – a long-term target who is set to join the Blues too.
Match of the Day pundit Shearer told The Rest Is Football podcast, which was released over the weekend: "It’s pretty embarrassing for Liverpool, if that is the case. They’ve agreed a deal for £111m and then, all of a sudden, the player has said 'No thanks, I don’t fancy coming to you, I’m going to London instead'.
"That is not a good look for Liverpool. You have to do your homework and your due diligence and make sure players want to join before agreeing deals for them."
Liverpool have lost Roberto Firmino, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Naby Keita and James Milner this summer – they need more reinforcements. They face a massive two weeks as they look to bolster their squad.
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