Brighton manager confirms Moises Caicedo’s sale to Arsenal is imminent
Roberto De Zerbi, the manager of Brighton, has made it clear that he is willing to sell Moises Caicedo to Arsenal.
The Ecuadorian midfielder surprised everyone by making a public transfer request after Brighton turned down a £60 million bid from the Premier League leaders. Brighton had already turned down a £55 million offer from Chelsea earlier in the window.
Caicedo didn’t play in his team’s 2-1 FA Cup win over Liverpool, but De Zerbi said he was ready to use the sale of the player to improve his team in the last few days of January.
“Caicedo is a very, very good guy,” he told reporters.
“I can understand because when you are 21 and you have a request from a big team, they are playing in Europe.
“I would like him to finish the season with us. But we are ready to go forward without him – I think we need some players in some positions.
“I spoke a lot with [Brighton chairman] Tony [Bloom], he knows very well my opinion. We are a good team but we can improve from the transfer window.
“We lost [Leandro] Trossard and if we also lose Caicedo, it can be a problem for us if we want to fight for Europe.”
Caicedo has been told not to show up to Brighton training because he asked to be sold to Arsenal on social media. De Zerbi thinks this was done by people close to the young player.
He added: “I was surprised, but I can understand where the mistake started.
“I don’t know if you understand but Moises is a good guy. I think [he is being influenced by others].”
Brighton manager confirms Moises Caicedo’s sale to Arsenal is imminent
