Glen Johnson believes Liverpool goaded Chelsea into paying an over-the-top fee for Moises Caicedo during the summer
Former professional footballer Glen Johnson is convinced that Liverpool fooled Chelsea into paying an inflated amount for Moises Caicedo. Caicedo has failed to justify the huge price tag that Chelsea paid during the summer transfer window.
The 22-year-old had an impressive Premier League debut season with Brighton & Hove Albion, attracting interest from Chelsea. Liverpool decided to make a late swoop for the Colombian international, forcing Chelsea to make a stupendous bid.
Before Chelsea’s bid, Caicedo decided to stall the Liverpool deal despite the acceptance of the bid by Brighton. The 22-year-old opted to trust the London club to return for him with a massive offer.
Eventually, he joined Chelsea and agreed to an outlandish contract, earning massive wages on an eight-year contract. The transfer saga gained global media attention with Chelsea flexing their ability to outbid any club under Todd Boehly.
The new Chelsea owner has a bullish attitude in the transfer market with no consideration towards Financial Fair Play rules. Chelsea fans bragged about Boehly’s ability to find loopholes while spending astronomical figures on players they desire.
The London club opted to go one step further and poached Liverpool-linked Romeo Lavia despite having no plans for him. However, Chelsea players have failed to live up to their expectations, as they are currently 18 points behind Liverpool.
Speaking to Betfred, Johnson expressed his belief that Liverpool outsmarted Chelsea in the transfer market, making them spend too much. He said:
“What I think Liverpool have done there is cost Chelsea a hell of a lot more money and I don’t think he’s living up to that hype. He’s a good player. Was he worth the price tag? Probably not.”
Jurgen Klopp’s relief and witty remark
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp signed Wataru Endo from Stuttgart during the summer for just £16.2m, changing the transfer tactics. The Reds are shrewd in the transfer market but usually do not spend on players past a certain age.
However, Endo has performed well for Liverpool till now, only struggling with the pace in the Premier League at times. Alexis Mac Allister and Trent Alexander-Arnold have performed brilliantly in the number six role at the same time.
Klopp: “We had few strange things happen. Between us, my god were we lucky! We didn’t know that in the moment”.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 11, 2023
“Obviously we realised other central defensive midfielders didn’t want to join… then you see what happens!”. pic.twitter.com/xZ9uIwUg8L
Speaking at the Anfield Road Stand test event (h/t The Standard), Klopp expressed his relief at dodging the Caicedo deal. He jokingly said:
“The summer we had, we had a few strange things happen in the transfer market but here, between us, I can say ‘My god, were we lucky, eh?’”
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The Kopites enjoyed their manager’s humour, realizing that they had certainly dodged a big transfer calamity. Liverpool plans to strengthen their defence in the upcoming transfer windows while ensuring they have secured other areas. There is also the potential of moving Trent permanently to the number six role.
