Arsenal

Arsenal

Premier League • England

Arsenal plot move for Brighton ace Moises Caicedo, with Man Utd lurking to rectify transfer mistake

Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo

Arsenal are reportedly hoping to snare Moises Caicedo from Brighton amid the midfielder’s great form, though Manchester United also have plans to raid the Seagulls for him.

Caicedo left his native Ecuador in January last year when Brighton paid Independiente £4.5million to sign him. He spent the rest of the 2020-21 campaign with Brighton’s reserve team before being called up to senior training that summer.

Despite impressing Graham Potter, Brighton chiefs felt Caicedo needed more experience before getting Premier League minutes. As such, the 20-year-old spent the first half of last season on loan at Beerschot in Belgium.

He made 14 appearances for the club, registering two goals and one assist, before returning to the Amex in January.

Caicedo soon began to make his mark on Brighton and got his first goal for the Seagulls in a famous 4-0 win over Manchester United in May.

Following Yves Bissouma’s move to Tottenham, Brighton appear set to rely more heavily on the Ecuador international this season.

He has featured in both of their Premier League matches so far. The box-to-box midfielder put in another great display as Brighton overcame United again on August 7.

Caicedo is showing he has the attributes and mentality to become a success in the Premier League. And this is putting top clubs on red alert.

Arsenal and Man Utd in for Moises Caicedo

According to the Daily Express, Arsenal are sitting up and taking notice. They have begun to monitor his progress and could even make a bid before the summer transfer window shuts.

Mikel Arteta can currently rely on Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard, Mohamed Elneny and Albert Sambi Lokonga in midfield. Plus, the Gunners are looking into a move for Youri Tielemans.

But Lokonga is the subject of interest from AC Milan. And with Tielemans becoming frustrated with how long Arsenal are taking to enter transfer talks, Arteta may have to turn his attention to Caicedo.

Arsenal are not the only English heavyweight to admire Caicedo. The report puts Manchester United on his trail too.

They were given the chance to snap Caicedo up before he went to Brighton. It would have been relatively simple to agree personal terms with the starlet as he is a fan of the Red Devils.

But United were beaten to the punch by Brighton. They are now aiming to rectify that transfer error by launching a fresh approach for him.

Unfortunately for Arsenal and United, Caicedo’s price tag has risen massively in recent months. transfermarkt value him at £5.4m, but Brighton will demand way more than this.

They are open to selling their best players, but only if the price is right. Just look at Ben White’s £50m switch to Arsenal and the £60m Chelsea had to spend on Marc Cucurella.

As Caicedo could cost in the region of £20m-30m, Brighton are set to make a big profit on another talented young player.

Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta gave praise to Gabriel Jesus following the forward’s brace against Leicester on Saturday.