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Brighton's decision to reject multiple bids for Moises Caicedo is a clear message that the club is moving away from the previous model and aiming to break new grounds
Over the past week, conversations regarding a potential exit for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo have intensified. Enquiries have been made and offers have been lodged.
To get a grip on the whole situation from a balanced perspective we need to understand the facts.
Brighton stand firm on Caicedo
Chelsea began the saga by lodging an offer of £55m that was nowhere near enough to bring Brighton to the table. Arsenal then submitted two bids of £60m and £70m which were promptly knocked back.
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The first bid, however, sparked a response from Moises Caicedo’s side to post a message publicly declaring his desire to leave.
There has been plenty of debate on social media, centered around the stubbornness of Brighton but the truth is, there should be questions asked about the timing of Arsenal’s bid with a few days left in the transfer window.
For Brighton, the offers have been way below asking price and publicly, the club have reiterated the stance that Caicedo would not be sold in this window.
Edu Gaspar and the Arsenal board probably feel an offer of £70m should be enough for a player with only around a year of English top-flight football under his belt.
Why Brighton want to keep Caicedo
Caicedo has been an integral part of their progress both under former head coach Graham Potter and now Roberto De Zerbi over the past year.
He was given time to settle in his first six months at the club, watching games from the bench after signing from Independiente del Valle in his homeland for around £4million at the end of the January 2021 transfer window.
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Recalled from a loan spell at Belgian club Beerschot in the first half of the 2021-22 campaign, Caicedo made his debut in the 3-1 FA Cup defeat at Tottenham last February and has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water in the period since.
Internally, he was regarded as a successor for Yves Bissouma. As it transpired, he proved himself a key component of the midfield both before and after Bissouma’s sale to Tottenham last summer.
He has forged a formidable double-pivot alliance with Argentine World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister since Bissouma’s departure but is just as capable of operating in isolation as a defensive midfielder or in a midfield three.
Big picture for Brighton
Brighton have forged an unwanted reputation of being a selling club. Deals were sanctioned for Ben White, Yves Bissouma and most recently Marc Cucurella and Leandro Trossard.
They’ve earned a massive amount of money from the sales but crucially, they have continued to invest smartly.
Brighton sit sixth in the table, eight points off fourth with a game in hand. Last season they finished in ninth which was the highest-placed finish of the club in its history in the top flight.
With the opportunity to make European football for the first time in their history, Caicedo is a vital piece and it makes sense to keep him at all costs. Their stance is admirable in that sense.
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The Seagulls are a club on an upward trajectory and have achieved it through impressive recruitments in the transfer market and astute appointments at managerial level. Their rise is admirable but it is absolutely earned.
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