Liverpool’s EPL rivals set to move for £80m Reds target after recent transfer setback – report
Liverpool are close to finalising the transfer of Alexis Mac Allister, but they could find it significantly harder to lure one of his Brighton teammates to Anfield this summer.The Reds have also been linked with Moises Caicedo over the past couple of months (Sky Sports), although one Premier League rival is seemingly set to make […]
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Liverpool are close to finalising the transfer of Alexis Mac Allister, but they could find it significantly harder to lure one of his Brighton teammates to Anfield this summer.
The Reds have also been linked with Moises Caicedo over the past couple of months (Sky Sports), although one Premier League rival is seemingly set to make their move for the Ecuadorian.
The Guardian have reported: “Chelsea, who have spent close to £600m since last summer, are rebuilding and are prioritising reinforcements in midfield.
“They are expected to move for Brighton’s Moisés Caicedo. The Ecuador international, who is likely to cost at least £80m, is also wanted by Arsenal and Liverpool.”
The Blues’ anticipated pursuit of the 21-year-old comes after they were dealt a setback over Manuel Ugarte, having reluctantly pulled out of a possible deal for the Uruguayan as Paris Saint-Germain presented a more attractive financial package.
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With Liverpool reportedly very close to signing Mac Allister, and with Fabrizio Romano hinting that the Argentine’s release clause could be less than £50m, would a 60% greater outlay on Caicedo be justified?
The 24-year-old scored 10 league goals this season to his teammate’s one and averaged far more shots per game (2.5 to 0.8), also eclipsing him for key passes (1.3 v 1.2) and dribbles (1.2 v 0.8) per match, as per WhoScored.
However, the Ecuadorian won more tackles (2.7 v 2) and made more interceptions (1.5 v 0.6) per game and had a better pass accuracy (88.8% v 87.2%).
Those figures aren’t surprising when considering that Caicedo plays in a defensive midfield role compared to the more advanced position Mac Allister takes up, although the latter still comes out on top for overall WhoScored performance rating with 7.05 compared to 6.92.
With all that in mind, it’s difficult to see Liverpool chasing hard for an £80m move for the 21-year-old when they appear set to land a slightly superior teammate for a substantially lesser amount.
That said, there were reports not so long ago that the Argentina midfielder would cost at least £70m (Sky Sports), so it’s not unthinkable that Brighton’s asking price for the Ecuador star could yet decrease as the summer progresses.
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