Moises Caicedo to Arsenal: New bid of £65million after star begs to leave Brighton – sources
Arsenal are submitting a new bid for Moises Caicedo of £65million after he publicly begged Brighton to let him go, sources have told Football Insider.
The Seagulls rejected what would have been a club-record £60m fee from the Gunners for the Ecuador international, 21, on Friday.
But Arsenal are stepping up their pursuit of Caicedo by upping their offer by a further £5m, in what amounts to a huge offer, as they look to secure their third January signing before Tuesday’s cut-off.
Mikel Arteta has made it clear to the Arsenal hierarchy he wants to bring in a new central midfielder who can instantly slot into his starting XI.
This comes at a time when Thomas Partey was injured in Friday’s FA Cup defeat to Man City and taken off at half-time.
Chelsea have also expressed an interest in Caicedo, who Brighton bought for £4.5m from Independiente del Valle in Ecuador two years ago.
The south coast club have repeatedly insisted Caicedo is not for sale and their stance remains unchanged.
That has prompted the player to go public with his desire to leave before Tuesday’s transfer cut-off, with a statement that had made clear there had been a huge bid for him.
Caicedo said on Instagram he was “proud to be able to bring in a record transfer fee for Brighton” but did not specify which club he wanted to join.
As quoted by Sky Sports (27 January), Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has confirmed that he is on the lookout for a midfield addition in the final days of the transfer window.
In other news, Kieran Tierney could be quitting Arsenal after what Glasgow man spotted.