The midfielder for Chelsea, Moises Caicedo, has responded defiantly to his poor start at Stamford Bridge and given an explanation for why he turned down a transfer to Liverpool.

After a tough and unexpected struggle with the Reds, Caicedo completed his move to Chelsea in August for a British record cost of £115 million. After arriving with Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, he left Brighton & Hove Albion and thwarted Jurgen Klopp’s intentions to bolster his Liverpool midfield even further.

Mauricio Pochettino and the German engaged in a well-publicized, yet brisk, tug-of-war over Caicedo. Brighton had already turned down the Reds’ shocking offer before the Londoners, who had been tracking the Ecuadorian international for some time, made their own move.

Caicedo has now asserted that Chelsea prevailed in the struggle to put an end to the transfer scandal, meaning Liverpool entered the race too late.

“I chose Chelsea because I was talking with them first and then it was impossible not to choose them. They were with me, supporting me because in the summer I suffered a lot because it was complicated to leave Brighton,” he said.

“They were with me. In the last moment, Liverpool called me but it was late. It was too late, you know? I wanted to play for Chelsea and the people that worked here were with me through every moment and it was tough to say no to Chelsea.

“It’s Chelsea, you know. At Chelsea, you always have to win every game and if you don’t, you’ll feel the pressure. I’ve only been here for four months, everything is new for me and I think it’s about time. It’ll take time because I know my quality, I know my teampmates and it’ll be our time.”

Chelsea’s Premier League position is 12. Even with yet another summer of free spending, Sunday’s loss to Everton was their eighth in the first 16 games.

Liverpool is presently leading ahead of Sunday’s matchup with Manchester United at Anfield, despite their disappointment in their chase of Caicedo and later Romeo Lavia.