Brighton fear that Moises Caicedo will leave this summer as Arsenal and Chelsea battle for his signing.
Both London clubs are believed to be chasing a high-profile deal for the Ecuador midfielder, with Manchester United also linked with a move.
Arsenal want another top midfielder to join No1 target Declan Rice at the Emirates Stadium for next season as Mikel Arteta’s side look to repeat their surprise Premier League title push, with Caicedo of interest along with the likes of Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan.
The Gunners tried to sign Caicedo during the later stages of the January transfer window, yet saw two bids - the second totalling £70million - rebuffed as Brighton kept hold of their key stars for the second half of a remarkable campaign in which they finished sixth and qualified for the Europa League despite the disruption caused by Chelsea poaching manager Roberto De Zerbi’s predecessor Graham Potter early in the season.
However, Caicedo and midfield colleague Alexis Mac Allister were always expected to be allowed to leave in the summer, with the latter having already wrapped up a switch to Liverpool for a cut-price fee rumoured to be as low as £35m.
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Now attentions turn to the battle for Caicedo, who is expected to command a fee of around £80m having signed a contract extension in the aftermath of that Arsenal saga in which he expressed a desire to move on.
And the 21-year-old’s Brighton and Ecuador team-mate Pervis Estupinan admits that everyone at Brighton is fearful of losing such an important player.
“Having a player of Moi’s [Caicedo] characteristics, we all fear that he will leave,” he said.
“If he stays, I will be very happy to keep playing alongside him and enjoying his football.
“If he goes, I will wish him all the best because he is a good lad, a good professional and he is a machine.
“If he leaves, we will be opponents and all I’ll ask is he doesn’t give me a whack because he is very strong!”
