Liverpool need to fortify their midfield this summer.
Brighton & Hove Albion fought hard, with fire and with fervour, to ward off advances from the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea for Moises Caicedo in the summer.
The south coast club succeeded, despite the Blues lodging a formal bid of £55m for the Ecuadorian ace and Arsenal subsequently attempting to entice the Seagulls with a £60m, and then £70m package for the burgeoning centre-midfielder.
While the London giants' efforts in grinding away at Brighton's resolve failed, Roberto De Zerbi's men are in the midst of a European-challenging season and lost Leandro Trossard to Arsenal for £27m in the winter window; a further dent to the first-team setup could have proved detrimental.
However, with the campaign approaching its culmination and the AMEX side well-placed to secure a maiden season on the continental stage, it appears they are accepting of the 21-year-old's desire to venture off for pastures new.
That's according to 90min, which states that De Zerbi and co will indeed grant the departure of the assiduous midfielder if their £80m valuation is met, with Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool said to be in the mix to push for his signature.
Brighton signed Caicedo from Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle for a scant £4.5m a little over two years ago, underscoring a meteoric rise to prominence on the Premier League and international scenes.
Should Liverpool sign Moises Caicedo?
One of the primary facets behind Liverpool's success under Klopp's wing has been the robust energy of the midfield. The former Borussia Dortmund boss' philosophy is built upon high intensity and unrelenting pressure; tactical awareness; an unflappable mentality.
Ageing legs and a tactical dissonance in the camp have resulted in a campaign that has left Liverpool struggling for top four and unable to build upon the success of last year in clinching the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, falling at the final hurdle in the Premier League and Champions League.
Signing Caicedo, who has been dubbed a "midfield machine" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, could be the perfect formula to remedy the outfit's woes.
Having forged 38 appearances this season, scoring one goal and assist apiece, Caicedo has emerged as the engine to keep the vibrant Albion machine churning, with his south coast outfit perched in seventh place with five divisional matches to go, two points behind Tottenham Hotspur in sixth and with two games in hand.
As per FBref, the industrious gem ranks among the top 7% of midfielders across Europe's big five leagues over the past 365 days for pass completion, the top 11% for rate of tackles and the top 16% for interceptions per 90, highlighting his impact as a defensive whiz and a composed distributor of the ball.
With the aforementioned statistics in mind, the £15k-per-week star could be the optimum replacement for Gini Wijnaldum, who departed Anfield upon the end of his contract in 2021.
Wijnaldum made 237 appearances for Liverpool and was instrumental in Klopp's most impressive success, winning the Premier League and the Champions League and being described as "irreplaceable" by Richard Jolly.
The 88-cap Dutchman embodied the unrelenting might of Klopp's system at its most powerful, never dropping below an 87% pass accuracy in the Premier League for the Reds, with tactical reports illustrating the importance of his often overlooked and tireless work.
Caicedo can indeed emulate his impact, and despite the high fee, Klopp must consider swooping for a player who could rekindle the Merseyside giant's flame and then some.