Brighton reject Arsenal’s bid for Caicedo
LONDON. — Arsenal are eager to sign a new midfielder before the January transfer window deadline on Tuesday and have out-bid Chelsea for Brighton star Moises Caicedo — though their offer has been rejected.
The table- topping Gunners have been rocked by the news that Mohamed Elneny is facing a lengthy lay-off, potentially ruling him out for the remainder of the English Premier League season.
Mikel Arteta was already light on options in central midfield and had been looking for additional cover as far back as last summer, when Arsenal failed in a bid to sign Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa.
Although the versatile Jakub Kiwior has been added to their ranks, the Polish youngster is seen predominantly as a centre-back despite also deputising as a defensive midfielder.
Arsenal have been increasingly linked with signing a new enforcer, with the likes of West Ham’s Declan Rice and Everton’s Amadou Onana both on their radar — though any swoop was expected to wait until the summer. But Elneny’s injury has changed the situation and The Athletic are reporting that Arsenal submitted a £60million offer to sign Caicedo from Brighton. The 21-year-old has enjoyed an excellent campaign so far for the Seagulls and is also being pursued by Chelsea, who had a £55m verbal proposal rejected earlier this month.
Unfortunately for Arsenal, Brighton have rejected their £60m bid too and are adamant Caicedo is not for sale this month.
The south-coast outfit have already lost Leandro Trossard to the Gunners this month, though the clubs enjoy a very good relationship and completed the £27m deal quickly and with little fuss.
But Brighton are adamant their position will not change and they do not want to lose Caicedo in the middle of the season, and particularly so late in the transfer window.
Arsenal have considerable funds to spend after missing out on Mykhailo Mudryk – who instead joined Chelsea – with the north Londoners having budgeted around £65m for that deal which is still available to invest.
It remains to be seen if the Gunners will return with a fresh offer for Caicedo, though it would take a club-record bid to convince Brighton to sell. Meanwhile, Real Sociedad have made it clear to Arsenal that they will need to activate Martin Zubimendi’s €60 million (£52.6m) release clause, according to reports.
Reports in Spain over the weekend claimed that Arsenal had made an approach for Zubimendi but the 23-year-old has turned down a move to Mikel Arteta’s side this month as he wants to see out the campaign with Real Sociedad.
According to The Times, Real Sociedad are confident that Zubimendi will not make a late U-turn this month and have informed Arsenal that the midfielder’s €60m (£52.6m) release clause will need to be triggered in order for the transfer to happen.
Arsenal also face competition from Barcelona as they view Zubimendi as a potential successor to Sergio Busquets, who is set to leave Camp Nou when his contract expires at the end of the season. Arsenal have been exploring alternatives to Zubimendi and both Brighton’s Caicedo and Everton’s Amadou Onana are being considered. — Metro.