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Gravenberch open to Liverpool move after Caicedo and Lavia drama
Chelsea have signed Moises Caicedo for a £100+15m package from Brighton and in doing so landed their top summer target.
It was an incredible saga. Liverpool tried to hijack the deal, successfully bidding £111m, but Caicedo made it clear he wanted to wait for Chelsea, who reached an agreement over the weekend.
Liverpool did all they could, but when a player has their heart set on one club it’s hard to change their mind. There has been a feeling all summer that Chelsea would eventually pay what it takes having had multiple bids for Caicedo rejected.
There is no doubt Chelsea felt somewhere around £80m was doable at the beginning of the window, but Brighton not only got their price, but around £10m more than they might have accepted earlier in the window. That’s because of the bidding war. It’s a fantastic bit of business for them when you consider they paid around £4m for Caicedo.
Chelsea’s sporting director Paul Winstanley has a long-standing relationship with Caicedo, and that helped, and Behdad Eghbali played a key role. He flew in for final negotiations to ensure the deal got over the line.
Chelsea are also on the brink of signing Romeo Lavia from Southampton, another Liverpool target.
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As a result I expect Liverpool to be busy between now and when the window shuts. Real Madrid don’t want to sell Aurelien Tchouameni, and the player doesn’t want to leave, so I don’t see too much substance in those links.
Andre is another possibility at Fluminense, but the Brazilian club have always hoped to keep hold of him until 2024.
Ryan Gravenberch at Bayern is a long-standing target as well. The player is open to the move. It’s just a case of whether Bayern will sell.
Chelsea have their new no.1 but want a backup ‘keeper
Mauricio Pochettino admitted Kepa just got an opportunity he couldn’t turn down and that’s why Chelsea agreed to his season-long loan to Real Madrid following Thibaut Courtois ACL injury.
The Chelsea boss was happy to have Kepa and new signing Robert Sanchez compete for the top spot. Kepa would have probably started against Liverpool as well had Real not come calling simply because he’d been with the squad for longer than Sanchez.
Sanchez is now No.1. And Chelsea will be looking for a back-up keeper. Clearly if they can find someone to offer strong competition that’s a bonus, but Sanchez has been informed he will be the first choice this season.
Chelsea are not considering Nice’s Kasper Schmeichel despite links. Newcastle have also indicated they want to keep hold of Martin Dubravka, who was on the bench against Aston Villa.
With Kepa just a loan, and Gaga Slonina highly rated, Chelsea need to find the right fit and character since game time for whoever comes in is likely to be limited.