Arsenal and Chelsea look set for an interesting final few days of the January transfer window as both clubs push to sign Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo. The Blues sent a £55million bid to the Seagulls for Caicedo but saw that rejected, with the Gunners then making a push to sign the 21-year-old.
Brighton received a £60million bid for Caicedo from Arsenal on Friday, football.london understands. The Gunners submitted a proposal for the Ecuadorian international to Brighton, but it is thought that the Seagulls promptly rejected the approach.
Significant developments in what can now certainly be described as a Caicedo transfer saga took a dramatic turn when the player himself released a statement regarding his future on Instagram as he made it known that he wished to depart Brighton & Hove Albion.
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The statement read: "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. I always play football with a smile and with heart.
"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."
Although there is now strong interest from two Premier League powerhouses, Brighton have remained firm on their stance, telling Caicedo to remain away from training and squad matters until the January transfer window closes.
According to the Independent, the two clubs would need to part with £90million to sign Caicedo this month, with the player's statement leaving the club's stance unchanged.
That increase takes his price tag to just over £15million shy of Enzo Fernandez, a deal the Blues pursued earlier in the window that they then subsequently pulled out of because of the price demand.
Chelsea looked for a new midfielder in the summer and could only find a short-term option, signing Denis Zakaria on loan from Juventus. Understandably clubs are less willing to depart with key players in the mid-season window, and another stop-gap option option has potentially become available to Chelsea.
As reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport, Marcelo Brozovic is of interest to Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Chelsea. Inter Milan are believed to rate him at a transfer fee around €30million (£26.3million). Chelsea were interested in Brozovic in 2021 but a deal never materialised.
The Croatian midfielder turns 31 this year and would therefore go against Todd Boehly's recent methods of tying young talent down to long-term contract. However, he has played at the highest level for a number of years and although injury problems have plagued his season, a fit Brozovic could certainly help Graham Potter for the final few months of the campaign.
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