On December 22nd, we carried a report from Diario Extra, who explained that ‘everthing indicates’ Moisés Caicedo will go to Manchester United as transfer talks were well advanced.
The midfielder is currently with Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle, and their general manager Santiago Morales said his side are in talks with an unnamed club for the 19-year-old’s sale.
Late on Tuesday, Youtube channel Futbol Bohemio and journalist Marco López Castillo stated the young player is expected to join the Red Devils.
The aforementioned claims have now been further backed up by major newspapers from Ecuador.
‘Moisés Caicedo will play for Manchester United’, reads a headline in El Diario Expreso.
Within the report, it’s stated the Premier League club’s representatives met with the leaders of Independiente Del Valle and the player’s agent, to agree on the details of the contract that ‘binds’ Caicedo to United.
It’s once again stated the teenager will have to sign a contract with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s in the next few hours, before the new transfer rules [post Brexit] for English clubs come into effect.
Once again, it’s worth stating what we covered yesterday on these rules: ‘It would be assumed the rule change they refer to is regarding work permits, but that seems a strange claim. The new rules, at least the ones which make it more difficult to sign certain players, mainly relate to players from the EU, which Caicedo isn’t and he isn’t listed as having an EU passport. Even then, given he could only be registered from January onward, because that’s when the window opens, he would still have to go through a work permit process.
‘Indeed, the new rules may even make it easier to sign some South American players given how international caps and Copa Libertadores appearances are counted. A problem could arise due to Ecuador only being ranked 56th in the world by FIFA.’
RB Leipzig and AC Milan also showed interest in Caicedo, but the Old Trafford club ‘put more money’ to beat competition from the two clubs. The fee is around $6m.
El Diario Expreso’s claims have also been relayed by another Ecuador newspaper, Diario Extra, as they state Caicedo ‘leaves for England’ for his transfer to United.
