Ben Jacobs has explained why Liverpool may struggle to sign one player they ‘love’ despite him having the ‘perfect’ profile for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
The Reds were linked with Moises Caicedo last month (The Telegraph) but Brighton have reportedly slapped a mammoth £100m price tag on the Ecuador international (The Athletic).
Jurgen Klopp has already signed two players for slightly less than that amount this summer in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, so he’ll almost certainly baulk at a nine-figure outlay for one more midfielder.
Jacobs was discussing Liverpool’s stance on the 21-year-old on CaughtOffside’s Debrief podcast on Monday, saying: “Liverpool love Caicedo. Barry Hunter, the chief scout, to my knowledge was looking at Caicedo before he joined Brighton but it was a messy deal.
“He was at a club known as IDV and was represented by multiple agents and there were all kinds of messy costs,” with the journalist adding: “The profile of Caicedo is perfect for Liverpool but the cost isn’t.”
Frankly, any notion of Liverpool paying £100m+ for Caicedo can be disregarded, especially considering the summer recruitment they’ve pulled off already.
We already saw how the Reds pulled out of the race for Jude Bellingham earlier this year as Borussia Dortmund placed a prohibitive £130m price tag on the player (Fabrizio Romano), who eventually signed for Real Madrid, so they’re highly unlikely to then turn around and go large on the Ecuadorian.
Neil Jones hinted when speaking to Empire of the Kop that LFC will probably be shopping in the £30m-£50m bracket for any further additions this summer, looking at several value-for-money signings rather than one marquee splurge.
It’s a stance which makes perfect sense, as blowing the bulk of the summer budget on one player could backfire should he incur a long-term injury.
Even though Caicedo was a stalwart in the Brighton team which excelled in the Premier League last season, playing the third-most top-flight minutes of anyone at the Amex Stadium (WhoScored), it’d be madness for Liverpool to pay the kind of money the Seagulls reportedly want for him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im3FUq24tkI