Arsenal have upped their offer for Brighton’s Moises Caicedo to £70million, but still plan more midfield upgrades in the shape of Declan Rice.
Brighton had already turned down a £60m offer from the Gunners for the Ecuador international, leading to a plea to leave on his social media channels.
talkSPORT understands that Brighton have since given Caicedo time off of football until after the window closes, with the Seagulls keen to hold onto their star asset, and him not get distracted amid huge interest.
However, their hopes of quieting things down in the remaining days of January look to have taken a knock, with Arsenal back for more.
The Daily Mail claim Mikel Arteta’s side have submitted a second offer for Caicedo, with £10m in add ons attached to the original £60m fee, but Brighton want £80m.
The 21-year-old joined the Seagulls in 2021 from Independiente del Valle, but has only just become a regular, and bids are well above the club’s record sale of Marc Cucurella to Chelsea for £56m plus add-ons.
Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi was asked about the situation with Caicedo missing for an FA Cup tie with Liverpool
“Caicedo is a good guy. We will see,” he said. “We hope he stays with us but this question for the club and Moises.
“In life you can make mistakes. We will see the best solution for the club, for Caicedo and for us.”
Premier League leaders Arsenal appear keen to secure upgrades in the middle of the pitch, with West Ham and England’s Declan Rice also linked.
A deal for the Hammers captain would also be pricey and close to the £100m mark, but the Mail also claim it’s not a case of one or the other for Arteta.
Arsenal could well look to secure both World Cup stars, having undergone heavy spending in an effort to back their Spanish manager.
The Gunners spent in the region of £135m during the summer on the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City, with both deals proving incredibly astute.
So far in January, they’ve already added to that, with Leandro Trossard joining from Brighton for £27m, and defender Jakub Kiwior arriving from Spezia for £22m.
Caicedo’s arrival would make it a record winter window for league leaders Arsenal, who are currently on track to claim their first Premier League title in almost two decades.
Read the full article here
