Arsenal have seen an improved bid of £70 million for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo rejected, OMASPORTS can confirm.
On Friday, the Gunners’ initial £60 million bid for the 21-year-old was rejected by Brighton, who made it clear they intended to maintain hold of Caicedo until the end of the current campaign.
Late on Sunday, though, Arsenal came back with a better offer for the Ecuadorian international, submitting a bid of roughly £65 million plus an additional $5 million in add-ons.
The Premier League leaders believed that would be sufficient to persuade Brighton to accept their offer, but the Seagulls once more quickly rejected the offer.
Now that Tuesday night’s transfer deadline is approaching, Arsenal must choose between making a third attempt to sign a central midfielder and moving on to other targets.
Caicedo informed Brighton in an open letter that he wanted a move, with the club responding by telling him to take time off until after Tuesday’s transfer deadline.
Brighton are sixth in the Premier League, five points behind fifth-placed Tottenham, but with two games in hand on Antonio Conte’s side.
Seagulls boss Roberto de Zerbi spoke about the situation following his side’s FA Cup victory against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon, saying: “I would like him to finish the season with us. Brighton chairman, Tony Bloom knows very well my opinion. We lost [Leandro] Trossard and if we also lose Caicedo it’s a problem for us if we want to fight for Europe. If we don’t lose Caicedo we are ready to fight.”
The Seagulls, who sold Leandro Trossard to league leaders Arsenal for £21m plus add-ons earlier this month, have already turned down a £60m bid from the Gunners for Caicedo, and also reportedly rejected an earlier £55m offer by Chelsea.
Before Sunday’s game, the Brighton boss said Caicedo had made a “mistake” in asking to leave the club. “For everyone there are many solutions. We will see the best solution for him and for us,” the Italian said.
Caicedo has made 26 appearances for Brighton in the Premier League, scoring twice, and is under contract until 2025.
