Brighton CEO surprised Moises Caicedo chose Chelsea over Liverpool

The 21-year-old had been strongly linked with a move to Stamford Bridge throughout the summer transfer window before Liverpool decided to enter the race for his signature earlier this month.

Brighton, who made it clear that they were holding out for a nine-figure fee for Caicedo, accepted a £110m bid from Liverpool last Friday and the midfielder was expected to head to Merseyside for a medical.

However, there was another twist in the transfer saga as Caicedo opted to turn down a transfer to Anfield after making it clear that his heart was set on a move to Chelsea.

After seeing multiple offers for Caicedo rejected by Brighton earlier this summer, Mauricio Pochettino's side eventually reached an agreement to sign the Ecuador international for a British-record £115m and the deal was officially confirmed on Monday afternoon.

Caicedo has put pen to paper on an eight-year contract at Stamford Bridge and Chelsea have the option to extend his deal by a further year, potentially keeping him at the club until 2032.

The midfielder departs Brighton two-and-a-half years after joining the club for just £4.5m from Independiente del Valle, and Seagulls chief Barber has stated that the youngster's preference was always to move to London having initially pushed to join Arsenal back in January.

However, Barber was surprised that Caicedo was not tempted by a move to Liverpool, telling talkSPORT: «Liverpool's a fantastic football club. For any footballer to have the chance to play at Liverpool, you'd imagine that they'd be running up the M6 but it wasn't to be.

»Moises and his