Arsenal and Chelsea battle for Moises Caicedo: The state of play

Carlo Garganese

• 25 Jan 2023 10:49 GMT
• 3 min read

Arsenal have joined Chelsea in the race to sign Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo but a January transfer looks very difficult.

That is according to transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano, who reports that Arsenal and Chelsea could be set to fight it out for yet another player.

The two London clubs have developed into something of rivals in the transfer market recently, with Chelsea infamously hijacking Arsenal’s deal to sign Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk this month.

Premier League 2022/23 January transfers: All the Done Deals

And now both teams are keen on Brighton sensation Caicedo.

Chelsea are desperate to sign a top-class central midfielder before the end of the transfer window, with Benfica’s Enzo Fernandez also an option.

Arsenal, meanwhile, also would like to buy a midfielder ideally to boost their chances of winning their first Premier League title since 2004.

What did Romano say about Caicedo?

“Caicedo has new agents now and so Arsenal are the latest club being kept informed on the situation,” Romano wrote in his CaughtOffside column.

“Chelsea have been pushing for weeks and so they remain keen on signing Caicedo. The big issue is Brighton; they want to keep the player.”

Premier League giants Manchester United and Liverpool have also been linked with the midfielder.

Caicedo has emerged as one of the most exciting young central midfielders not only in the Premier League but in all of Europe over the past year or so.

He joined Brighton from Independiente del Valle in 2020 before spending half a year on loan at Beerschot in 2021-22.

He returned to Brighton in January 2022 before really exploding onto the scene.

This season he has been key for a Brighton team that is challenging to finish in the European places.

Caicedo impresses at World Cup

Caicedo has also developed into Ecuador’s most admired player and he was outstanding during the group stages of the 2022 World Cup.

Ecuador impressed massively in their first two games, a 2-0 win over Qatar and 1-1 draw with Netherlands.

But they exited the tournament after losing 2-1 to Senegal in their final group game. Caicedo had equalised to make it 1-1 but Kalidou Koulibaly’s winner proved decisive for the Senegalese.