Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo for a British record fee of £115m after days of negotiations.
The fee means Chelsea will break the British record twice in 2023, following the £107m purchase of Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez in January.
Caicedo’s preference remained with Chelsea even after Liverpool tabled a £100 M for the defensive midfielder .
Caicedo, who was left out of Brighton’s squad for their season-opening win at home to Luton Town, is still to have a medical.
It is understood the initial fee is £100m, with half of the additional payments said to be easily achievable, while Brighton have also negotiated a sell-on clause.
Caicedo joined Brighton from Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle for £4m in February 2021, although he did not make his Premier League debut until April 2022.
He asked to leave Brighton in the January transfer window earlier this year and Arsenal had multiple offers turned down for the midfielder before he signed a new contract until 2027 in March.
Caicedo will be Chelsea’s eighth signing of the summer, following Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson, Lesley Ugochukwu, Angelo Gabriel, Robert Sanchez and Diego Moreira.
New manager Mauricio Pochettino has been tasked with overhauling the squad and vastly improving on last season’s 12th-place finish in the Premier League.