Arsenal are set to lose out on one of their biggest summer targets to London rivals Chelsea.
The Gunners have been extremely busy in recent weeks in the transfer market, bringing in Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber for a combined £200 million. Only the former deal has so far been announced, the other two set to follow.
But after such a huge outlay, Arsenal need to balance the books before committing to more spending. Granit Xhaka has joined Bayer Leverkusen for £20m – but should manager Mikel Arteta shift a couple more fringe stars, he would like to add another midfielder.
According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, however, the chances of bringing long-term target Moises Caicedo to the Emirates Stadium are dwindling, with Chelsea looking at signing the Ecuadorian first.
“[I] understand Moises Caicedo deal is now ‘moving’ between Chelsea and Brighton,” the Italian journalist tweeted. “The two clubs are discussing [the] amount of [the] fixed fee.”
Arsenal wanted to bring the midfielder to north London towards the end of the January transfer window, as per The Athletic. But the player ultimately signed a new deal at the Amex to protect his value, with a release clause rumoured to be inserted should interest come in for him again.
Arteta has added Havertz to his options in midfield but a more defensive alternative may well be needed. Should he want to sign Caicedo, however, he will need to act fast to sell stars before committing what could well be another £100m – with Fabrizio Romano confirming that Chelsea have struck personal terms with the player and now only need to agree a fee.
Brighton have already lost Alexis Mac Allister this summer and are in a strong enough position financially to not need to sell Caicedo for any less than their valuation of him.
