"We are far bigger than Chelsea will ever be" - Former Liverpool star John Aldridge makes claim as Moises Caicedo joins Blues

Former striker John Aldridge has proclaimed Liverpool to be always 'bigger' than Chelsea after the latter beat the Reds to Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo.

In one of the most riveting transfer sagas of the summer, the Blues were the frontrunners for Caicedo before Liverpool attempted to hijack the deal. The Reds hoped to gain the services of Caicedo with a bid of £110 million, but the player declined to join them.

Chelsea were back in the fray and lodged a British transfer £115 million bid (including £15 million in add-ons). It was accepted by Brighton, and Caicedo arrived at Stamford Bridge.

The 21-year-old is one of the best young midfielders in the game, and former Reds striker Aldridge has no qualms admitting that. In his column for the Echo, the Englishman wrote:

"He is a very good player, make no mistake about it. He is not worth the £115million Chelsea are going to pay for him, but who is worth that? It seemed Liverpool were on course to sign Caicedo on Friday, but things soon changed."

Aldridge continued that Fernando Torres moving to Chelsea hurt him more than Caicedo's snub:

"As soon as the player made clear he wanted to go to Chelsea over Liverpool, I didn’t want him at all. We are far bigger than Chelsea will ever be."

He added:

"Missing out on this transfer has not hurt me like when Torres left us to go there, that was awful and hard to stomach. Going to Chelsea? When I was at Oxford United, we beat them three times in the space of four months. They have bought their way to where they are."

Caicedo arrives at Stamford Bridge with a record of two goals and three assists in 52 games across competitions for Brighton since arriving from Beerschot V.A. in 2021.

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Liverpool split points with Chelsea in Premier League opener

Liverpool FC

Liverpool opened their 2023-24 campaign with a blockbuster Premier League clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, August 13.

The visitors made the brighter start and deservedly went in front when Luis Diaz converted Mohamed Salah's assist in the 18th minute. Ten minutes later, Salah thought he had doubled the Reds' advantage, but the effort was ruled out for offside.

Chelsea responded in kind, with debutant Axel Disasi converting his defensive partner Ben Chilwell's cross to restore parity eight minutes before the break. It was then Chilwell's turn to see a goal denied for offside.

With no more goals in the game, the two heavyweights split points for the fifth straight Premier League outing. The Reds are next in action at home to Bournemouth on Saturday (August 19) before Chelsea travel to West Ham United a day later.