Arsenal fear they could end up losing the battle to sign Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo to Chelsea, as per Football Transfers.
The Gunners made an attempt to sign Caicedo from Brighton during the January window, but their £70m bid was rejected. Caicedo since then has signed a long-term contract at the club, but there are suggestions that he could be allowed to leave this summer if a good offer comes in.
Premier League rivals Chelsea are also in the race to sign the Ecuadorian midfielder, and Football Transfers claims that the Blues have become “increasingly bullish” over securing a deal.
The online website suggests that “money could be a decisive factor” here. Chelsea are pushing hard to complete a deal for Caicedo and Arsenal are concerned that their London rivals could persuade the midfielder to join them by offering him more money.
Football Transfers further says that Caicedo’s agent is seeking more money from the deal and Chelsea are more likely than Arsenal to match those demands at this stage.
The Telegraph recently claimed that Brighton are expected to demand more than £70 million for Caicedo this summer, and it appears that Chelsea are currently leading the race at the moment.
Another transfer blow?
The Gunners fans will remember fondly how they missed out on signing Mykhailo Mudryk in January. They were heavily linked with a move for the 22-year-old Ukrainian and almost had the deal wrapped up, but Chelsea emerged out of nowhere to hijack the move.
It appears that the Blues are ready to make a similar swoop to snap-up Caicedo from under Arsenal’s nose. Interestingly, Caicedo’s camp appears to be pushing their client to join the club that’s willing to pay the most money, rather than just join a club in the Champions League.
If Arsenal miss out on Caicedo, they will have to put all efforts into signing Declan Rice from West Ham. The summer transfer window will be interesting as so many top midfielders will be in the market, and we could see them getting involved in a bidding war against each other at some point.
