Liverpool may be forced to scale up any plans they may have to sign Moises Caicedo in the immediate future with Chelsea reportedly set to begin talks with Brighton in the next 24-48 hours.

Fabrizio Romano reported on Twitter that Chelsea have already made significant headway on personal terms for the Brighton star.

EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea are set to open talks with Brighton for Moisés Caicedo as negotiations between clubs starting within 24/48h. #CFC

Personal terms, not as issue — now Chelsea prepared to ‘attack’ the deal.

Never easy or fast negotiations with Brighton. Chelsea, on it. pic.twitter.com/7v9cPjVYyS

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 28, 2023

The Merseysiders have signed the Ecuadorian’s former midfield partner, Alexis Mac Allister, though have yet to make further progress since the window opened.

It’s fair to say that £35m for a player of the World Cup winner’s obvious quality was a steal and a half, so Roberto De Zerbi’s men could hardly be blamed for setting an extortionate price-tag for their next most prized asset.

With that in mind, our potential reluctance to get involved in a bidding war – despite our prior reported interest (Telegraph) – would be more than understandable when we’re looking at potential targets around the £40-50m mark of the likes of Khephren Thuram and Manu Kone.

That said, given Caicedo’s remarkable talent ceiling and suitability for the Premier League, one might fairly wonder why we wouldn’t splash in excess of £70m on the midfielder and reunite him with his old teammate at Anfield.

It’s a costly solution, and one that could very well cost us a third midfielder, though, equally, the thought of Mac Allister combining with the 21-year-old is almost irresistible.

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