Arsenal and Chelsea have been dealt a huge blow in their transfer pursuit of Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo. The Ecuador international has signed a new long-term contract to stay with the Seagulls until 2027, with a club option for an extra year.
The Gunners had two bids rejected for the 21-year-old in the January transfer window before eventually signing Jorginho from Chelsea instead. The Blues had a verbal bid of £55million swiftly rejected by Brighton, whilst Arsenal had a bid in the region of £70million turned down.
Caicedo had released a statement expressing his desire to leave the club on deadline day and was left out of training by manager Roberto De Zerbi until after the January window had closed. Caicedo's agent Manuel Sierra revealed why a move did not materialise for the Ecuadorian midfielder in an interview after both Arsenal and Chelsea had pushed to sign him.
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In an interview just days after the January transfer window had closed, Sierra addressed his client's failed move. Caicedo's agent said: "The offers were received, you see what is on the table and Moises says that he wants to go forward, that it is the dream of his whole life. We don’t know what can happen tomorrow, maybe he trains and gets injured, we can’t know what’s going to happen."
In a shock turn of events, the 21-year-old has now committed his long-term future to Brighton after signing a new contract that will see him stay on the south-coast until 2027, with the Seagulls having the option to extend his deal by a further year. A statement from Brighton read: "Moises Caicedo has committed his long-term future to the Albion by agreeing a new contract that runs until 2027, with a club option for an extra year.
"The 21-year-old has been virtually ever present in our men’s first team since making his full Premier League debut in April last year." De Zerbi said: "This is a fantastic news for the club, our fans, for me and most importantly for Moises.
"It will make us stronger as we move forward towards our targets on the pitch."
The details of Caicedo's new contract at Brighton are unclear but it looks as though the 21-year-old talent will be staying with De Zerbi's side for the foreseeable future. Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal were all thought to be interested in the midfielder heading into the summer transfer window, but now it seems only a mega-money deal will be able to lure him away from Brighton.
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