Chelsea’s frenzied and extravagant dash through the transfer market shows no signs of slowing.

The Blues beat Liverpool in signing Moises Caicedo on Monday for a reported £115-million fee. The sum makes the Ecuadorian midfielder the most expensive incoming transfer in British football history.

Caicedo, who made 45 Premier League appearances for Brighton & Hove Albion before his blockbuster move, signed an eight-year contract at Stamford Bridge. There’s a club option to add an additional year to the deal.

Brighton have made a huge profit on Caicedo after paying Independiente del Valle around £4 million for his services in February 2021, according to Agence France-Presse.

Biggest signings made by British clubs

“I am so excited to be here at this big club, and I didn’t have to think twice when Chelsea called me – I just knew I wanted to sign for the club. It’s a dream come true to be here, and I can’t wait to get started with the team,” Caicedo said.

The transfer empathizes the club’s dedication to its aggressive approach to business under chairman Todd Boehly despite last season’s huge outlay yielding a 12th-placed Premier League finish and disappointing exits from domestic and continental cup competitions.

With Caicedo’s arrival, Chelsea’s spending has reached around £875 million (including add-ons) over the past 15 months. That number is expected to rise before the transfer window shuts on Sept. 1. The club is also reportedly on the verge of signing Southampton’s Romeo Lavia, and it’s linked with moves for Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise and Santos teenager Deivid Washington.

Although the fee for Caicedo is massive, his arrival appears to address a glaring need for a No. 6 in Mauricio Pochettino’s side – one that was exposed during Sunday’s 1-1 home draw with Liverpool. The 21-year-old’s presence should further liberate Enzo Fernandez in Chelsea’s midfield, while players like Conor Gallagher will be given fewer defensive duties in the middle of the park.

Caicedo’s 2022-23 Premier League stats

Caicedo represents another link with Brighton during the Boehly era. Marc Cucurella and Robert Sanchez joined from the Seagulls over the past three transfer windows, and the Blues tempted Graham Potter and some of his coaching staff to their dugout from Brighton last term before sacking him in April. Brighton also signed Billy Gilmour on a permanent basis and Levi Colwill on a season-long loan from Chelsea during the previous summer transfer window.

Sanchez and Colwill started Chelsea’s season opener against Liverpool, along with fellow debutants Axel Disasi and Nicolas Jackson. Malo Gusto and Lesley Ugochukwu also made their first appearances for the club off the bench.

French superstar Kylian Mbappe was reinstated in Paris Saint-Germain’s first team on Sunday after being sidelined for several weeks amid an ongoing contract dispute.

The Frenchman is now considering extending his deal, with PSG growing confident he’ll remain at the club, sources told Julien Laurens of ESPN.

PSG opened their Ligue 1 title defence with a goalless draw at home against Lorient on Saturday as the team’s prize asset watched from the stands.

“After very constructive and positive discussions between Paris Saint-Germain and Kylian Mbappe before the PSG-Lorient match, the player was reinstated in first team training this morning,” PSG said in a statement.

After a summer of flux at the Parc des Princes filled with new arrivals and Lionel Messi’s departure, it is the Mbappe stand-off that continues to dominate the headlines.

The France captain has thus far refused to sign an extension to his PSG deal, meaning he can leave for free next year, with Real Madrid long seen as his preferred destination.

Qatari-owned PSG want to sell him now and bring in a significant transfer fee for a player who cost 180 million euros ($198 million) from Monaco in 2017.

“The position is very clear. If Kylian wants to stay, he must sign a new contract. We can’t let the best player in the world today leave for free. It’s impossible,” PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi said last month.

Mbappe has not been allowed train with the first team and played only one of PSG’s five warm-up games and was not invited to the pre-season tour in Japan and South Korea.

New coach Luis Enrique on Friday said he hoped a solution could be found, but Mbappe was left out of the squad to face Lorient.

Instead he sat alongside fellow 2018 World Cup winner Ousmane Dembele, who completed his transfer from Barcelona earlier in the day, as Luis Enrique handed debuts to six players.

Despite his sidelining Mbappe was one of the first to welcome Dembele.

“Welcome home my brother, so happy to see you here, the adventure begins,” Mbappe posted on social media.

The two friends then appeared smiling together in the stands while Brazilian star Neymar, whose future is also in doubt, was absent because of a “viral syndrome”.

With his reinstatement, Mbappe has partly won his case, even if it is too early to know if it will lead to the contract extension the club are demanding.

Saturday’s offensive weaknesses against Lorient may have prompted PSG to soften their attitude towards the top scorer in the club’s history.

The 24-year-old forward is now available for the trip to Toulouse on August 19, even if he has played just once, a friendly against Le Havre, in the past two months.