EXCLUSIVE: Arsenal fear losing Caicedo to Chelsea as agent demands more money

Steve Kay

• Updated: 13 Jun 2023 07:41 BST
• 3 min read

Arsenal fear losing Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo to Chelsea, with FootballTransfers sources suggesting that money could be a decisive factor in the deal.

The Gunners have been chasing the 21-year-old player since January, when they had everything set to complete a deal with the exception of the agreement of Caicedo’s employers. From their perspective, a deal is in place to be completed.

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Arsenal had been expected to simply return to Brighton to match their asking price of £70 million for Caicedo this summer to sign the player, but Chelsea have become increasingly bullish over a deal, which has led to increasing fears that a second Mykhailo Mudryk situation is developing.

The Blues did make a January bid for the Ecuador star, too, but after their bid was rejected, they appeared to pull out of the running. Unlike their London rivals, there were no discussions over personal terms or even informal talks over a move. Once their offer was knocked back, they simply pulled out of the deal.

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Chelsea not showing their hand

Chelsea are, according to FootballTransfers’ sources, pushing very hard to complete a deal, having not shown their hand to the midfielder earlier this year.

Arsenal are now concerned that the Stamford Bridge side will be able to persuade Caicedo to sign by offering him more money. It is thought that this could be a decisive factor in the player’s thinking.

A further factor in the deal is that Caicedo’s agent is reportedly seeking more money from the deal, with Chelsea looking likelier to match these demands than Arsenal.

FootballTransfers’ understanding is that the agent is now pushing for the midfielder to pick Chelsea as his future club ahead of the Gunners.

This situation is only going to increase the pressure on Emirates technical director Edu, who is under pressure to deliver a big transfer window.

Arsenal have gone from a position whereby they thought Caicedo was all-but sewn up to being genuinely fearful that Chelsea are in a position to hijack the transfer, much as they did with Mudryk in January.