Moises Caicedo: Manchester United narrowly missed out on signing midfielder for €5m in 2020

• Moises Caicedo is set to be announced as a Chelsea player on an eight-year deal
• The Blues will pay £100m for Caicedo, plus £15m in performances bonuses
• This fee is more than 20 times what Manchester United would have paid for him in 2020

Chelsea are finally set to acquire their man as Moises Caicedo is on the verge of being announced as a Blues’ player in yet another record British transfer fee.

The saga around the Ecuadorian has dragged for weeks, with the latest twist involving a dramatic Liverpool snub when it looked like the Merseysiders would secure a £111m transfer.

Caicedo, according to reports, had a personal agreement with Chelsea in May, and did not want to go back on his word.

Sky Sports further reports that the 21–year–old arrived at Chelsea training grounds on Monday, August 14 ahead of his medical.

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While on paper it looks like Caicedo appeared out of nowhere to break a British transfer fee record, the midfielder has been on the radar of big clubs from as far back as in 2020.

When United missed out

The year was 2020 and Manchester United, under the guidance of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, were keen on revamping their squad for the summer.

At the time United wanted to approach the transfer market a bit differently amid criticism of the club’s tendency to overspend with little to no results.

Several names were snapped up that summer, including Daniel James, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Amad Diallo and Facundo Pellistri. United chiefs had one eye on the future as all these players were not yet the finished product.

In January 2021, during the winter transfer window, United had an eye on a teenage Caicedo, who was playing for Independiente del Valle then.

As cited on Give Me Sport, there was a lot of hype around the midfielder, who had already made his debut for his country Ecuador as a mere teenager.

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Surely a club as big as United would have no trouble signing a player in his native South America, right?

The move somehow collapsed due to a host of factors, and the Red Devils missed out on the opportunity to sign Caicedo, when he could have gone for as little as €5m.

At the time, Football transfer expert Fabrizio Romano excited fans by revealing the club as in direct contact with Caicedo’s representatives, and the youngster at the time admitted he admired the Old Trafford club, telling Mundo Deportivo:

“My dream is to arrive at Manchester United. I like English football a lot because it is a quick style of football.”

According to Manchester Evening News, United pulled the plug on the transfer because too many intermediaries were involved in negotiations, which made the whole deal “messy”.

In the end, Caicedo secured his dream move to English football, joining Brighton and Hove Albion for a reported fee of €5million.

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Winners and Losers from Caicedo deal

Sports Brief also reported on the biggest winners and losers from the Caicedo to Chelsea deal.

Brighton definitely ranks up there in the winners list as the club have reaped handsomely from the sale of the Ecuadorial.

On the other end, Liverpool are among the biggest losers, and will now attempt to beat Chelsea to the signing of Romeo Lavia.