Brighton & Hove Albion boss Roberto De Zerbi has insisted he is 'happy' to see Moises Caicedo remain at the club after the January transfer window.
Caicedo was the subject of a reported bid worth £55million from Chelsea and an offer of £60m from Premier League leaders Arsenal - both were rejected by the Seagulls as they stood firm towards the end of the window.
The Ecuadorian midfielder expressed his desire to leave Brighton after Arsenal submitted their offer as he was told to stay away from training until the close of the transfer window. Liverpool were also linked with the 21-year-old, and are likely to continue to be touted heading into the summer.
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Liverpool are set to revamp their midfield at the end of the season, and reports have suggested Caicedo is a player admired by Jurgen Klopp as heads into an important transfer window.
Speaking ahead of his side's clash with Bournemouth on Saturday, De Zerbi spoke of his delight at still having his midfielder at the club, with Caicedo set to be back in contention after returning to training earlier this week.
De Zerbi said: "I am happy that Moises Caicedo has stayed with us. I want to speak to our fans to support him. I love Moises. Everyone in the club loves him and I want the fans to follow me — let’s support Caicedo.
"I don't know if he made a mistake or not, but the transfer market is closed and the fans must follow me because I take the responsibility of him, and if I say something so clear about Moises, they have to believe in me."
Asked whether he thinks Caicedo still wants to leave the club in the summer, De Zerbi responded: "I don't know. I want to be the unique responsible person about him because I believe in Moises.
"I don't know the situation in the future, but he's a good guy and I want to defend him now because I believe. In other times, I spoke a different way for other players, but for Moises it is different, and we need the performance of Moises."
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