Arsenal and Chelsea have both been heavily linked with a move for Brighton star Moises Caicedo during the January transfer window.
Caicedo has established himself as one of the most consistent midfielders in the Premier League over the last 12 months, earning interest from a plethora of top clubs, including both the Gunners and the Blues. football.london understands that Arsenal saw a £60 million bid for the Ecuadorian rebuffed on Friday morning, with the Seagulls demanding a fee in excess of £75 million instead.
The player then posted a statement on his social media asking to leave the Amex Stadium and he didn't show up for training on Saturday ahead of his side's match against Liverpool on Sunday. Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano confirmed this, writing on Twitter: "Moises Caicedo didn’t turn up for training today - he wants to leave immediately.
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"Caicedo could also miss tomorrow’s game. Understand Arsenal are expected to improve their bid, after £60million revealed yesterday. Chelsea offered £55million - rejected too."
As per journalist Alex Crook, Brighton have since decided to give Caicedo time off until after the winter window shuts, hoping it will help their player refocus for the second half of the 2022/23 campaign whilst also affirming that the talented youngster is not for sale.
The Seagulls employed a similar tactic with defender Marc Cucurella over the summer, with The Athletic reporting at the time that the Spaniard had been exiled from first-team training to avoid distractions following interest from Chelsea. However, Cucurella still joined the Blues shortly after this, clearly showing that all hope is not lost for the two London clubs regarding Caicedo, provided the transfer offer is high enough of course.
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