The Premier League fixture list has given Moises Caicedo a period of respite from angry Brighton supporters if he is to join Chelsea this summer. The 21-year-old midfielder has heavily linked with a move to Arsenal in the previous transfer window but, despite his best efforts, Brighton blocked his departure.
football.london understands that Arsenal submitted two bids for the Ecuador international in January, but both were rejected. It's said that the Gunners are now prioritising a move for Declan Rice, with Mikel Arteta desperate to further bolster his options in the midfield of the park.
In March, Caicedo signed a new long-term deal which keeps him on the south coast until 2027. Initially, it seemed as if the Ecuadorian's extension would rule out the prospect of a future move, however that doesn't seem to be the case with Chelsea expected to make a move in the coming weeks.
football.london understands that, while the west Londoners hold an interest in Caicedo, they're hesitant that he could cost in the region of £100million. Nevertheless, if Chelsea manage to wrap up a deal then the youngster won't have to face the music of angry Brighton fans at the Amex Stadium until April – unless of course the fixture is rescheduled.
Before then, the travelling Seagulls faithful will certainly ensure that their feelings are made clear when Chelsea welcome Roberto De Zerbi's side to Stamford Bridge in December. However, it could be naive to expect the worst.
When Caicedo was reintegrated back into the squad after pushing for a move to Arsenal, he was met with a warm applause by Brighton fans at the Amex when he came on to replace Billy Gilmour against Bournemouth in February. According to The Argus, the home support were clapping and singing his name as he entered the pitch.
Following Brighton's defeat to Aston Villa on the final day of the Premier League season, De Zerbi admitted that Caicedo may have just played his last game for the club. The Italian said: "I think that can be the last game of Alexis and Moises, I'm really sorry.
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"They are two great people and two great players. We are ready. We have to find other big players to play without Alexis and Moises. If you ask me about Caicedo and Mac Allister, I love them and they are two big, big players and can be in a big, big European team.
"They can play in every competition and are ready to compete for a big team and I hope for them they can play in the best team in the world," added De Zerbi. "For Brighton we can still improve [without them] and we can bring in other good players with the transfer market
"Next year we will be playing in four competitions, the Premier League will be tougher for us for sure and we have to be stronger than this year. At the moment we are not ready to play three games per week, but we are not used to that.
"We will have to work in the transfer market and build a stronger squad with more players. The results we achieved were incredible, but we have the dream to improve these results."
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