Arsenal will need to significantly increase their offer for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo in order to stand any chance of bringing him to the Emirates Stadium this month, according to reports. The Gunners are one of several clubs to have been tracking Caicedo’s progress at Brighton and recently decided to firm up their interest with an official bid in the region of £60million.
The offer was swiftly rejected by the Seagulls, but it seems as though Arsenal’s hopes of landing Caicedo are not yet over if they decide to improve their proposal in advance of Tuesday’s all-important deadline. Brighton are only willing to sell the Ecuador international for a transfer fee of £90m, which means that Arsenal will need to increase their bid by another £30m in order to secure his signature, according to The Independent.
It is said that Brighton are under no financial pressure to cash in on Caicedo, with their favourable position allowing them to demand a money-spinning fee in exchange for his services. Those in power at the Amex Stadium are said to be far from impressed with the player’s decision to go public with his desire to leave on Friday, when he took to Instagram to plead with his current employers to sanction his exit.
“I am proud to be able to bring in a record transfer fee for Brighton which would allow them to reinvest it and help the club continue to be successful,” wrote Caicedo. “The fans have taken me into their hearts and they will always be in my heart so I hope they can understand why I want to take up this magnificent opportunity.”
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Brighton’s desire to keep hold of Caicedo this month is said to be particularly strong, given their aims of qualifying for European football next season after an impressive first half of the current campaign under the guidance of Roberto De Zerbi. They also recently lost Leandro Trossard to Arsenal and would prefer to avoid selling two of their most important assets in the space of just a few weeks.
Chelsea have also been credited with a strong interest in Caicedo and saw a bid of their own, which was reportedly worth around £55m, rejected earlier this month. Arsenal are seemingly the club in pole position to sign the 21-year-old as things stand, though, and it remains to be seen how the situation will develop over the coming hours and days ahead of next week’s deadline.
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The Gunners are expected to table an improved offer at some point before the January window closes, with Mikel Arteta having admitted earlier this week that he is eager to sign a new midfielder this month. The Spaniard’s desire to add to his options in the engine room will have increased after Thomas Partey was injured against Manchester City on Friday, although it remains unclear how long the 29-year-old will be sidelined for as a result of his latest knock.
“We need more cover in midfield ideally if we can but obviously in this market it is pretty complicated to do that,” said Arteta. “As I always say, the most important thing is that we get the performances and the time on the pitch today with the players that we have that are already very good. If there’s anything else available that can make us better we’ll look at it.”
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