Manchester United may have cleared the path for Arsenal and Chelsea to make a bid for Brighton star Moises Caicedo in the summer transfer window. The two London clubs have been heavily linked with a switch for the Ecuadorian international, who looks set to leave the Seagulls.
Both teams were showing interest in the 21-year-old in January, with the Gunners making a late bid to sign him before the closing of the window. They missed out though, with the north London side landing Jorginho from the Blues, who made a late push for Enzo Fernandez from Benfica.
Brighton then offered a new contract to Caicedo, who signed a four-and-a-half-year extension that would keep him at the club until 2027. The versatile youngster continued to impress under new boss Roberto De Zerbi, with the Italian eventually guiding the south coast side to the Europa League.
While that was a huge triumph for the Seagulls, they've been braced to lose some of their biggest stars anyway, with Alexis Mac Allister already moving to Liverpool. Caicedo is the next one expected to leave after De Zerbi admitted he could be free to make an exit.
football.london understands that Chelsea are confident of landing a deal with Brighton for the midfielder this summer, having missed out on Manuel Ugarte. They could take the initiative in the race ahead of rivals Arsenal as football.london also understands that their top priority is Declan Rice.
With Brighton setting a valuation of £80million for Caicedo, both teams will be looking to avoid a bidding war in the summer window. Reports of Manchester United's interest won't have helped that case, given their willingness to pay big for players they are keen on, such as outbidding the Gunners to sign Lisandro Martinez last year.
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However, according to CBS journalist Ben Jacobs, the links with a switch to Old Trafford aren't significant and likely rules them out at this stage. Whether they ramp up any admiration remains to be seen, but for Arsenal and Chelsea it clears a path for the two to battle it out for Caicedo rather than three.
There's plenty of time left in the transfer window for twists and turns and where the youngster ends up remains to be seen at this stage.
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