Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi has admitted that the club are "ready to go forward" without Moises Caicedo. The midfielder has been strongly linked with a move to Arsenal and Chelsea throughout the January transfer window but the Seagulls have remained reluctant to sell.
Chelsea saw a bid worth £55million earlier in the window swiftly rejected before the Gunners themselves saw a £60m bid rebuffed on Friday, football.london understands. Caicedo's future has since become unclear after he released a statement admitting his desire to leave the club this winter.
"I am grateful to Mr. Bloom [the Seagulls owner] and Brighton for giving me the chance to come to the Premier League and I feel I have always done my best for them," the statement read. "I always play football with a smile and with heart.
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"I am the youngest of 10 siblings from a poor upbringing in Santa Domingo in Ecuador. My dream always to be the most decorated player in the history of Ecuador. 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.
"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."
Caicedo was subsequently instructed to remain away from the club until after Tuesday's deadline day, seeing him miss the impressive FA Cup win over Liverpool on Sunday afternoon. After being quizzed on the 21-year-old prior to the clash, De Zerbi was faced with further questioning over Caicedo's transfer saga ahead of the final two days of the window.
Speaking after the win, he said: "It's already difficult for me to be a coach. To be a coach and chairman is too much.
"It's already difficult for me to be a coach. To be a coach and a chairman would be too difficult but [Moises] Caicedo is a very, very good guy. I can understand because when you are 21 and you receive a request from a big, big team that are playing in Europe, I can understand," said De Zerbi (via SussexLive).
"I would like for him to finish the season with us but we are ready to go forward without him. I think I need some players in some positions. I spoke a lot of times with Tony [Bloom], he knows my opinion very well, because we are a good team but we can improve also from the transfer market window.
"We lost [Leandro] Trossard and if we lose Caicedo it can be problem for us. If we want to fight for a European spot or to finish high in the table if you don't stay like this, you can stay [like this] but I don't like."
De Zerbi's words come after reports that Brighton had secured the signing of AIK midfielder Yasin Ayari. It had been reported over the past couple of days that a replacement would have to be found for Caicedo to tempt the club in sanctioning an exit and Ayari's arrival is expected to be confirmed in the coming days.
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