‘Enough is enough!’ – Chelsea fans rage at Boehly over Caicedo farce
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 11 Aug 2023 10:17 BST
- 5 min read
Chelsea fans have woken up to the unwelcome news that they have been the victims of a high-profile transfer hijacking by Liverpool over Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo.
Chelsea were strong favourites to land Caicedo for much of the summer but the Reds appear to have beaten Mauricio Pochettino’s side to the Ecuador star by offering a British record transfer fee of £110 million (€127m) for the 21-year-old.
The Blues had put Caicedo at the very top of their transfer list since having a bid turned down for him in January. Indeed, they had been negotiating for the player for the past three months.
MORE: Caicedo deal agreed! Romano reveals RECORD transfer offer ACCEPTED
Brighton, though, turned the Caicedo race into an auction, which Liverpool won by offering £10m more than their rivals.
After weeks of expectation, Chelsea fans may now see Caicedo play against them in Sunday’s Premier League opener versus Jurgen Klopp’s side. This would be the latest slap in the face for Todd Boehly’s administration, which has lurched from crisis to crisis, despite spending on an unprecedented scale.
MORE: Chelsea’s PERFECT Caicedo alternative is transfer listed – and Poch ‘LOVES’ him
Chelsea fans react to Caicedo transfer
“Words cannot describe how frustrated I am and how this board has let down the fanbase. 1 position, Caicedo AND Ugarte. Bottled. F this, I’m out,” one fan tweeted.
Another writes: “Dear Todd Boehly,
“Enough is enough, throw the £105m that you would’ve spent on Caicedo at Tchouaméni and try your hardest to convince him to join
“Don’t be going for 2nd and 3rd options, get the ELITE players or don’t get anyone at all
“Fix. Your. Mistakes. NOW”
Chelsea actually bid £48m on Lavia to scare Liverpool so they went and bought Caicedo for £110m instead.
These directors are not serious, I am sorry this is an embarrassment I am expecting someone to lose their job.— Dean (@DeanCFC_) August 11, 2023
Imagine Caicedo being announced by Liverpool before we play them on Sunday? GREAT prep for Poch and the players. I'd forgotten that game is even on. Absolutely embarrassing from us and I'm sorry but there's no excuses anymore. Three months to NOT get the player, unacceptable.
— Simon Phillips (@siphillipssport) August 11, 2023
The worst thing about this whole Caicedo pursuit is that you lost out on a world class player yes, but it’s not like you can bounce back by buying another world class player and putting a plaster over the wound UNLESS you buy Tchouemeni which is just a made up link from our fans…
— Pys (@CFCPys) August 11, 2023
But there is a sizeable number of fans who have the club’s back over not bowing to pressure from Brighton.
I feel like a lot of people don't understand how big £100m is. If we choose not to pay that much for Caicedo, I'm completely on the club's side.
There are very few midfielders worth that much — respectfully, Caicedo is not one yet. If Liverpool want to pay it, good for them.— ExpectedChelsea (@ExpectedChelsea) August 10, 2023
Hindsight is a bitch. There is always the possibility of another club crashing your target but that doesn't mean you should rush a transfer and pay more than the value. It's all about the right value. I wish we signed Caicedo but £110m?, nah, he's not a rare profile like Enzo.
— Vince™ (@Blue_Footy) August 11, 2023
Only time will tell if Boehly was right in this instance, but the pressure is on his Chelsea team more than ever before.
