Why Man Utd missed out on Moises Caicedo for a bargain £4.5m price
Karan Tejwani
- 5 Sept 2022 12:50 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United are keeping an eye on the progress of Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo, but could’ve signed him much earlier, when he was still a teenager.
Caicedo has made a big impact for Brighton this season and is already on the radar of several clubs across Europe – he even scored against Manchester United in their opening game of the campaign.
Manchester United were heavily linked to the player in 2020 when he was still playing in Ecuador, but never made a move and that allowed Brighton to pounce.
That has now been deemed as a mistake, as Brighton now value him highly – with some suggestions that they’d want around £50 million for any transfer to take place.
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According to The Athletic, Manchester United could’ve signed Caicedo for as little as £4.5 million when they initially had interest in him in 2020.
Back then, Caicedo was still playing for Ecuadorian outfit Independiente del Valle, but United walked away from the deal, and Brighton signed him before loaning him to Belgium’s Beerschot.
Over the last year, Graham Potter has given him more chances and it’s increased in recent times following the sale of Yves Bissouma to Tottenham over the summer.
Manchester United walked out of the deal due to concerns over the high agent fees that they would have to pay in order to get the player, which is now proving to be a mistake.
The Red Devils have signed Christian Eriksen and Casemiro this summer, but having an extra talented profile in Caicedo would’ve done little harm, and they may be left to rue their error.
Caicedo has been attracting interest in recent weeks, and there was even a belief that Liverpool were willing to meet Brighton’s asking price for him in the final days of the summer transfer window.
The Ecuadorian has been influential for his club this season, and has already scored twice, with a World Cup selection looming later in the winter.
