Arsenal in fresh Moises Caicedo bid as Brighton tell midfielder to 'stay away' – report

By Tom Hancock
published

Arsenal have already had one offer for the Seagulls star turned down, but they appear determined to get a deal done this month

Arsenal-linked Moises Caicedo of Brighton & Hove Albion during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion on 21 August, 2022 at the London Stadium in London, United Kingdom
(Image credit: Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)

Arsenal (opens in new tab) have reportedly made a second approach for Moises Caicedo, despite Brighton (opens in new tab)'s insistence that the midfielder is not for sale.

The Gunners saw their opening £60m bid rejected (opens in new tab) on Friday – but Caicedo's head appears to have been turned, and Brighton have told him to stay away from training until after the January transfer window closes on Tuesday.

That news came as Caicedo posted on Instagram that he hoped to "take up this magnificent opportunity" – presumably referring to the possibility of joining Arsenal.

Arsenal-linked Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo lines up ahead of the Premier League match between Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion on 22 October, 2022 at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, United Kingdom.

The only Premier League game Caicedo has missed this season was last month's defeat to Arsenal (Image credit: Visionhaus/Getty Images)

According to MailOnline (opens in new tab), the Gunners have tabled another £60m bid for the 21-year-old Ecuador international – but this time with a further £10m in add-ons.

However, the report adds that Brighton – who turned down a £55m offer (opens in new tab) from Chelsea (opens in new tab) earlier in the window – are likely to reject that too, valuing Caicedo at £80m.

Caicedo joined Brighton from Ecuadorian outfit Independiente del Valle in February 2021 and, after a loan spell with Beerschot in Belgium, has come to establish himself as one of the Seagulls' standout stars this season.

However, his enforced absence from training means that he will miss Sunday's FA Cup fourth round tie at home to Liverpool (opens in new tab) – who he helped Brighton beat 3-0 in the league just a couple of weeks ago.

Moises Caicedo of Ecuador celebrates after scoring for his country during the FIFA World Cup 2022 match between Ecuador and Senegal on 29 November, 2022 at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar.

Caicedo has won 28 caps for Ecuador and scored at the 2022 World Cup (Image credit: Ayman Aref/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Should Arsenal manage to wear down Brighton's resistance between now and deadline day, Caicedo could become the second player to make the switch from the Seagulls to the Gunners this month – following Leandro Trossard, who completed a £27m move to the Emirates Stadium last week.

Trossard is one of two January arrivals so far for the Premier League leaders, who also signed Poland centre-back Jakub Kiwior from Spezia on Monday.

More Arsenal stories

Arsenal have been linked with a move for Everton midfielder Amadou Ounana (opens in new tab) – having reportedly monitored him before he joined the Toffees last summer.

The Gunners intend to conduct their transfer business in secret (opens in new tab) going forward, though, having missed out on Mykahilo Mudryk to Chelsea earlier in the January transfer window.

Elsewhere, Cesc Fabregas has lauded Arsene Wenger (opens in new tab) for the way he coached him at the club.

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Tom Hancock

Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for The Analyst and When Saturday Comes, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open...