Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo for a British record fee of £115m.
Liverpool agreed a £111m deal for the 21-year-old Ecuador player on Friday.
However, Caicedo’s preference is Chelsea and they have finally succeeded with a bid after having a succession of proposals rejected by Brighton this summer.
The fee means Chelsea will break the British record twice in 2023, following the £107m purchase in January of Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
Caicedo, who was left out of Brighton’s squad for their season-opening win at home to Luton Town, is still to have a medical.
Caicedo joined Brighton from Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle for £4m in February 2021, although he did not make his Premier League debut until April 2022.
He will be Chelsea’s eighth signing of the summer, following Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson, Lesley Ugochukwu, Angelo Gabriel, Robert Sanchez and Diego Moreira.
Chelsea opened their Premier League season with a 1-1 home draw against Liverpool on Sunday.