Arsenal's £60million bid for Moises Caicedo has been rejected football.london understands. The Gunners submitted a proposal for the Ecuadorian international to Brighton, but is thought that the Seagulls rejected the approach promptly.
Brighton are of the position that they do not want to sell Caicedo this January. Roberto De Zerbi's side have an opportunity to qualify for Europe this season, and are wary of leaving themselves short by selling Caicedo. The Seagulls are said to have had an approach for RB Leipzig's Amadou Haidara rejected already this window, according to recent reports, and unless they bring somebody in, it's difficult to see them dropping their asking price, which is believed to be north of £75million as things stand.
Mikel Arteta revealed to football.london on Wednesday that Arsenal are in the market to bring in a midfielder before the January transfer window shuts on Tuesday amid concerns over Mohamed Elneny's fitness. "Well, we need some more cover in midfield ideally if we can. In this market it’s pretty complicated to do that," the Spaniard said. "The most important thing is that we get the performances and the time on the pitch that we need with the players we have available today that are already really good."
READ MORE: What Oleksandr Zinchenko did to Jakub Kiwior after Arsenal win vs Man Utd ahead of £21m transfer
Arsenal have already brought in one player from Brighton this window in Leandro Trossard and it is thought that Director of Football Operations' Richard Garlick has a good relationship with the south coast outfit. However, the Seagulls have shown consistently that they will not sell below their asking price in deals for players like Marc Cucurella and Ben White. On top of that interest from Chelsea could once again see the price of an Arsenal target rise this month after the Blues managed to win the race for £88million winger Mykhailo Mudryk.
If he were to come in Caicedo would become Arsenal's third January transfer after Trossard and Jakub Kiwior. It is thought that their interest in the Ecuadorian does not affect their attempts to sign Declan Rice this summer. The Gunners are also interested in bringing in Ivan Fresneda but face competition from Borussia Dortmund.
READ NEXT:
Arsenal can repeat Leandro Trossard trick by completing two-year transfer plan to sign £22m star
Arsenal make clever £18.5m transfer move to secure Premier League title advantage over Man City
Xhaka forfeit, Arteta and Odegaard battle as new Arsenal signing trains ahead of Man City clash
Find the footballs on the football.london website to win cash prize, vouchers and TV worth £3,000
Arsenal news and transfers LIVE: All the latest news, rumours and gossip from the Emirates Stadium
