Roberto De Zerbi privately told Brighton and Hove Albion not to sell Moises Caicedo to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal or Graham Potter’s Chelsea in the January transfer window, according to The Daily Mail.
The report has claimed that Arsenal and Chelsea both wanted to sign Caicedo from Premier League rivals Brighton last month.
Arsenal had two bids for the 21-year-old midfielder turned down by the Seagulls.
Brighton wanted as much as £80 million in transfer fees for the Ecuador international, described as “fantastic” and “incredible” by his Seagulls teammate Adam Webster on the club’s official website in April 2022.
Arsenal did not want to pay that much.
According to journalist Fabrizio Romano in CaughtOffSide in January, Caicedo “would love to join Arsenal”.
Towards the end of the January transfer window, De Zerbi did suggest that Brighton could cash in on the youngster, saying that his team would be strong even without the midfielder.
However, according to The Daily Mail, ‘in private, it is understood De Zerbi made clear how important Caicedo is to his team and reinforced the importance of keeping him’.
Could Arsenal sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton in 2023 summer?
In our view, Arsenal could be able to sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton and Hove Albion in the summer of 2023, but we do not think that the Gunners will want to spend £80 million in transfer fees.
Arsenal signed Jorginho from Chelsea on the final day of the January transfer window after they realised that they could not get Caicedo.
Jorginho is in his 30s now, so if the Gunners win the Premier League title this season, then they could try to bring in a young(er) midfielder in the summer of 2023.
Yes, Arsenal could go back in for the Ecuador international, but you have to ask whether they would pay £80 million for him at the end of the season when they did not want to pay that much last month.
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