Brighton once again look set to lose at least one of their star players heading into the summer as a mass bidding war starts for Roberto De Zerbi's key men.
After such a successful season on the south coast it isn't surprising that the highflying Seagulls, still in with a chance of Champions League qualification, are facing a battle to keep their best players. Over the past few seasons they have lost Ben White - Arsenal fans know about him - as well as Marc Cucurella and Graham Potter.
Leandro Trossard only left in January to join the Gunners yet Brighton and their sustainable and seemingly never-ending production line of unknown young players continues to impress in the Premier League. This summer is set to rival previous windows in terms of players exiting the club, though.
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With their best ever season has come even more attention and increased analysis and attention. Before this term had even started there was a crop of teams competing for Ecuadorian midfielder Moises Caicedo. At the time he hadn't been playing for more than 12-months in England.
Move on one year and Caicedo is still being looked at by the biggest teams in the country including Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal as well. It was the Gunners that were hottest onto his tail in the winter, making three bids for his services, each of which was rejected out of hand.
It prompted an angry response from owner Tony Bloom as well as chief executive Paul Barber. Caicedo, still a novice in the elite game, appeared to all but confirm his desire to leave in an emotional and confused social media post approaching deadline day.
He was told not to attend training until the window was over, Arsenal didn't meet the lofty £80million ($101million) valuation and things ended abruptly. Despite the uproar at the time, Caicedo has returned to club action seamlessly and has been proving his worth with performances at right-back as well as several roles across the midfield.
To add salt to the wounds, he also signed a long-term deal just weeks after the window closed, committing himself to Brighton until 2027. That doesn't mean all is over for Arsenal's hopes though.
Alexis Mac Allister only agreed a new deal until 2025 in October 2022 but the Argentine has a 'good chance' to leave already this summer with Liverpool in pole position to sign him. The Athletic's David Ornstein writes that he has a release clause in his deal - though it is not the typical type - and could hand Brighton more power in the market.
Arsenal had also been considering a move for Mac Allister after the Argentine's continued control in midfield across the World Cup and domestic action. It is reported that offers of £70million ($88.4million) will be enough to get Mac Allister to move.
The centre of midfield is a key position for Arsenal to look at this summer after shortcomings in recent weeks have left them clinging onto hopes of winning the league rather than being in command of their own destiny.
Mac Allister might be out of reach now but as his contract stance has shown, it doesn't mean that Caicedo will be moving forward.
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