Arsenal and Chelsea have both been informed of their respective leverage in the race to sign Moises Caicedo. The 21-year-old midfielder was heavily linked with an exit from Brighton in January and, despite issuing an plea to leave on social media, the Seagulls blocked his exit.
football.london understands that the Gunners submitted two bids for Caicedo, but both were rejected and they welcomed Jorginho to the Emirates Stadium instead. It was said that the Blues were also preparing a bid for the Ecuador international had they missed out on Enzo Fernandez, who completed a move to Stamford Bridge on deadline day.
A few months later, Caicedo signed a new long-term deal with Brighton, keeping him at the club until 2027. While this may have been a ploy to fend off interest in their star-man, he continues to turn the heads of numerous top clubs around Europe.
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With plenty of speculation around Caicedo's future, his agent, Manuel Sierra, has insisted that his client is focused on finishing the season with Brighton before any major decisions are made in the summer. In an interview with the Arsenal Informer, Sierra said: "Moises has 4 years left on his contract. He’s having an incredible season, so it’s normal that there are many clubs interested in him.
"Now he’s completely focused on the last part of the season; all evaluations will be postponed until the summer. This is not a surprise because there aren’t many other midfielders so young and talented around Europe. I believe he can really improve in every aspect of the game."
Then, Sierra confirmed that Caicedo's dream is to play in the Champions League and that his idol is N'Golo Kante. Ironically, Arsenal have secured a top-four place, but have Chelsea haven't – though the Blues do have the Frenchman.
"He can slot into any [team] as he is ready for it all," added Caicedo's agent. "His dream is to play in the Champions League and to reach as far as he can in football. His idol? Kante."
Earlier this month, Brighton chief executive Paul Barber issued an update on the club's transfer plan, with Caicedo expected to leave in the summer. Speaking on Sky Sports, the Seagulls chief said: "Well there’s always going to be rumours when we do well and our people do well.
"There’s always going to be bigger clubs playing at a higher level looking to take our best people but all we can do is perform at our highest potential, hopefully get to the highest position we ever have done in the Premier League and we’re confident we can keep our best people here for as long as possible.
"But you can never say anything is guaranteed in football and we’re certainly going to work hard to keep the best people here."
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