Arsenal on the verge to submit third offer for Moises Caicedo after £70m bid rejected by Brighton

According to reports, Arsenal is contemplating a £75 million bid for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo.

The need for a new center midfielder has increased since Mohamed Elneny’s injury, which is why the Gunners have made Caicedo their top priority during the last hours of the January transfer window.

For the Ecuadorian international, Arsenal has already had two offers rejected; the most recent being for £65 million with a further £5 million in add-ons.

According to The Sun, Arsenal are returning to the table for a third time and have raised their offer to £70m plus a further £5m in bonuses.

The report claims that Brighton have told Arsenal that Caicedo is not for sale, despite the midfielder publicly pushing for the move to go through.

Caicedo informed Brighton in an unexpected statement on Friday night that he intends to sign with Arsenal before the transfer market closes on Tuesday.

‘I am proud to be able to bring in a record transfer fee for Brighton which would allow them to reinvest it and help the club continue to be successful,’ the Ecuador international said in a statement.

‘The fans have taken me into their hearts and they will always be in my heart so I hope they can understand why I want to take up this magnificent opportunity.’

Before Brighton’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday, head coach Roberto De Zerbi responded to a question concerning Caicedo’s status by saying: ‘Moises is a good guy, we will see tomorrow and the next days what happens.

‘We hope he will stay with us until the end of the season but this is a question for the club and Moises.

‘Moises is a good guy. I think in life you can make mistakes. For every one there are many solutions and we will see the best solution for the club and for him and for us.’