The deal was struck after several days of negotiations, with a verbal agreement reached last week before being closed definitively with the Quito club. Caicedo will join Juliano Belletti's Barça Atlètic rather than the youth sides, underlining the club's view of him as a player ready for senior reserve football. LDU Quito will retain a 20 per cent sell-on clause on any future transfer.
The winger can also operate as a left-back, giving him the flexibility to be used in multiple positions across the left flank.
The operation follows a model Barcelona have used successfully in recent windows. Hamza Abdelkarim arrived on the same loan-with-option structure in January and performed well enough at youth level to earn a place in his national team's World Cup squad, whereupon Barcelona activated their purchase option and made him a permanent member of the club.
The structure keeps the financial exposure modest for Barcelona while giving them a route to a permanent deal if Caicedo develops as expected. At €2.5m, the obligation clause — triggered by only four senior appearances — represents a low-risk bet on a player who has already been blooded at the top level in Ecuador.
For Caicedo, the step from Ecuadorian football to Spain's second tier under Belletti at Barça Atlètic is significant. He has already demonstrated senior readiness at LDU Quito, and Barcelona's scouts will have followed his progress closely enough to be confident he can handle the transition. The loan structure protects both parties — Caicedo gets the development environment, Barcelona retain the option to buy if his progress warrants it.