Tim Sherwood believes teams would be taking a ‘big risk’ with a transfer for Arsenal target Moises Caicedo. The Gunners are keen to get the Brighton & Hove Albion ace.
That is according to The Times, which reported earlier in May that Arsenal have given Mikel Arteta the green light to target a transfer for Brighton ace Caicedo. Emirates Stadium chiefs are preparing a £200m spending spree having secured their spot in the Champions League.
Arteta has identified his engine room as a key area to improve when the sales open and he admires Caicedo. But the Gunners will part-fund their war chest with a clutch of sales that may include Granit Xhaka. Arsenal are also set to consider letting Emile Smith Rowe leave.
Arsenal are set to back Arteta targeting Caicedo’s transfer
Arsenal believe a transfer with Brighton for Caicedo will help them to build on this season’s surprise Premier League title challenge. The north Londoners only started the term looking to seal their return to the Champions League. Yet they pushed Manchester City the closest.
Caicedo also showed Arsenal first-hand why Arteta backs a transfer when Brighton won 3-0 at Emirates Stadium last Sunday. The 21-year-old thrived in his makeshift right-back role for manager Roberto De Zerbi. He also stepped into their midfield whilst Brighton had the ball.
The 30-cap Ecuador international’s surging runs down the channel and ability in possession were also reasons for why Arteta targeted him this January. Sky Sports reported in January that Brighton rejected an improved offer worth £70m from Arsenal over Caicedo’s transfer.
Sherwood feels a move to sign Caicedo would be a ‘big risk’
Yet despite Arsenal’s long-term interest in Caicedo’s transfer, Sherwood feels teams would be taking a ‘big risk’ by targeting the midfielder. The ex-Tottenham Hotspur manager notes how Yves Bissouma was similarly sought-after last summer only to struggle upon his move.
“Caicedo, I think, is a big risk, for me,” Sherwood said on Sky Sports News (20/05, 12:12). “Bissouma was the one everyone was lauding up – they’ve got to look at that. I’m not saying he’s the same player, hopefully he’s not for anyone who takes that boy.
“But Bissouma, we were talking in the same vein about him. He’s gone to Tottenham and he’s not playing. Now, I’m not saying it’s going to happen but I’d be very cautious, very, very cautious [about Caicedo].”
Tottenham paid Brighton an initial £25m, plus £10m in add-ons, to sign Bissouma in June 2022. Yet the 26-year-old has only been a bit-part player for Spurs despite emerging as a worthy signing on the south coast. He was a superb box-to-box player for Graham Potter.
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