Chelsea have made Moises Caicedo the most expensive player in British football history with his £115m move from Brighton this week, beating Liverpool to the star midfielder.
Caicedo had only spent one full season with Brighton following his 2021 transfer from his native Ecuador, but quickly established himself as one of the best in the Premier League.
Chelsea had been after him for months without success, but ended up gazumping Liverpool’s £111m offer to make the 21-year-old latest addition under Todd Boehly’s leadership.
Caicedo had only spent one full season with Brighton following his 2021 transfer from his native Ecuador, but quickly established himself as one of the best in the Premier League.
Chelsea had been after him for months without success, but ended up gazumping Liverpool’s £111m offer to make the 21-year-old latest addition under Todd Boehly’s leadership.
As he burst through the Independiente del Valle academy, he had 55 on his back before moving up to 52, and he would also wear both 5 and 6 before he made the move over to England in 2021.
The number 8 was handed to Caicedo in Brighton’s Under-23 setup before a promotion to the first team came with the 25 shirt which he has worn ever since, although a loan to Belgian side Beerschot brought a return to 6 and spells back in Brighton’s youth setup brought the 10 and 8 shirts.
On the international stage, Caicedo has worn the number 23 shirt in each of his appearances for Ecuador.
Chelsea recently announced a raft of new shirts numbers for summer signings and existing players, with as many as 10 changes for those who were at the club last season.
The ovious choice for a defensive midfielder is 4, which has the added bonus of previously being worn by a player that Caicedo idolized growing up: Claude Makelele. The 25 shirt he wore for Brighton is also currently vacant if he wants to hold onto a bit of continuity after so much upheaval.