Arsenal are still pushing to sign Moises Caicedo before the window closes despite seeing their improved £70m offer rejected by Brighton, according to Ben Jacobs.
After Mohammad Elneny’s potentially season-ending knee injury, the Gunners have accelerated their efforts to sign a new midfielder before tomorrow’s deadline, with Caicedo emerging as a primary target.
Arsenal made their opening offer of £60m last week to purchase the Ecuadorian international, however, that proposal was swiftly turned down by the Seagulls.
That prompted Caicedo to release a statement expressing his desire to leave the Amex Stadium and pursue a dream move to London. The 21-year-old has not trained with Brighton since and sat out their 2-1 FA Cup victory over Liverpool on Sunday afternoon as he tries to push through a move.
Second offer
Writing on The Athletic, David Ornstein has reported that Arsenal made a second bid worth around £65m plus £5m in add-ons to sign the talented midfielder on Sunday night. The report states that Brighton have rejected the improved proposal and are insisting Caicedo won’t be sold this month.
However, Arsenal are still eager to get a deal done before the window slams shut and CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs says the Gunners haven’t given up hope of getting a deal agreed with the South Coast club.
Despite Brighton’s protestations that Caicedo won’t be sold this month, it has been suggested that they would accept a fee of around £80m to let the South American leave, so Arsenal will need to improve on their second offer to get this deal done.
The midfielder still has two and a half years left in his current contract. So, Roberto De Zerbi’s side are in a strong position to demand a big fee to let their key first team member depart this month.
Chelsea and Liverpool were also reportedly linked with a move for the 21-year-old. However, with the Blues reviving their interest in signing Enzo Fernandez and Jurgen Klopp mentioning they are unlikely to make any more signings this late in this window, the Gunners aren’t expected to face any competition to get this deal done.
With just hours remaining before the window closes, time is running out for Arsenal to find a breakthrough so they’ll need to act fast if they want to get Caicedo through the door before Tuesday night’s deadline.
