Moises Caicedo has joined Chelsea from Brighton in a deal worth a possible £115million.
The Blues look set to eclipse their own British transfer record having agreed to pay £100m up front for Caicedo, plus a further £15m in potential add-ons.
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Here, the PA news agency compares the transfer with previous big-money signings.
Highest transfer fees paid by British clubs
The Caicedo deal is the fourth nine-figure transfer in Premier League history.
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The record remains at £106.8m – the amount that Chelsea paid Benfica for Enzo Fernandez in January – but Caicedo’s move could eventually surpass it should he meet add-on criteria totalling £15m.
The Fernandez fee appears to have set a new precedent for central midfielders, with Declan Rice also having moved from West Ham to Arsenal for £100m plus add-ons earlier this summer.
Manchester City’s Jack Grealish was the first Premier League player to break the £100m barrier, with the former Aston Villa captain having signed for Pep Guardiola’s side in 2021.
Most expensive under-21s
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Caicedo is the third player aged 21 and under to command an initial fee of £100m or more.
The Ecuadorian follows in the footsteps of Kylian Mbappe and Joao Felix, who moved to Paris St Germain and Atletico Madrid for £165.7m and £113m respectively.
Mbappe was 19 when PSG secured his permanent transfer from Monaco in 2018, while Felix was the same age upon moving from Benfica to Atletico 12 months later.
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Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham’s £88.5m switch from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid continued the German club’s impressive record of signing young players and selling them for a large profit.
Ousmane Dembele – who joined Barcelona from Dortmund as a 20-year-old in 2017 – also ranks in the five most expensive players aged 21 and under (£96.8m).
Highest fees received by British clubs
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Brighton are the fifth British club to receive a nine-figure sum for an individual player.
The Seagulls are fast proving themselves as adept as Dortmund when it comes to developing young talent, with Caicedo having joined for an estimated £4.4m from Ecuadorian club Independiente del Valle in 2021.
His sale is the third this summer to breach the £100m mark, after Tottenham and West Ham cashed in on their club captains Harry Kane and Rice respectively.
Liverpool – who Caicedo turned down in favour of Chelsea – have held on to top spot in terms of most expensive sales in Premier League history.
The Reds sold Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona for an initial £105m in January 2018, with a further £37m received in subsequent add-ons.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie