Arsenal will still be monitoring the situation surrounding Brighton & Hove Albion’s midfielder Moises Caicedo ahead of the summer transfer window.
What’s the latest?
Edu Gaspar was able to bring in a new midfielder over the January transfer window, however, there will be question marks over whether he was the player who they originally wanted.
On deadline day, the Gunners confirmed the signing of Jorginho from their London rivals Chelsea after he signed a one-and-a-half-year deal.
It was strongly reported throughout the month that Arsenal were targeting Caicedo of Brighton and had even submitted two bids worth up to the £70m mark.
And now the January window is in the past, journalist Pete O’Rourke has told Football FanCast that he fully expects the north London side to be keeping tabs on the Ecuadorian:
“I would imagine they will still be monitoring his situation at Brighton. They obviously made a couple of big-money bids, which were rejected by Brighton and Brighton stood firm to resist those, even though the player was openly keen on a move to Arsenal.”
Midfield options
Caicedo is certainly a player who has impressed this season and has also reportedly drawn the attention of the free-spending Chelsea.
So it will be interesting to see whether this becomes a three-way battle between the London clubs and Liverpool in the summer for the 21-year-old.
The Ecuadorian made it apparent that he was looking to leave the Seagulls in January by going to the extent of refusing to return to the club until the January window had passed.
Who would you prefer at Arsenal?
Declan Rice
Moises Caicedo
However, what is intriguing ahead of the summer is the gunners are also reportedly interested in bringing Declan Rice to the Emirates Stadium in the summer.
In comparison, the Englishman, Rice, has provided West Ham with more shot-creating actions and passes per 90 minutes but Caicedo has offered the Seagulls with more tackles per 90 minutes (via Fbref).
The 21-year-old has certainly caught the attention of those around the league with Jamie Redknapp hailing his quick adaption to the English game on Sky Sports:
“He [Caicedo] had a spell in Belgium where he was very successful; they bought him back when they sold Bissouma to Tottenham. He has been magnificent.”
So it seems as if Arsenal will have a welcomed headache ahead of the summer as who to pursue and perhaps missing out on Caicedo will give them a few more months to consider their options with such big money on the table.
