A price tag of exactly £100m has been placed on a dominant midfielder Man Utd want to sign, Arsenal are plotting a summer move for, and for whom Chelsea have already tabled a sizeable bid, per reports.
The January window has been a frantic one across the entire Premier League and the early signs point towards more fireworks in the final week.
However, today’s update centres around a transfer likely to take place in the summer. What’s more, it’ll cost a nine-figure sum.
Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool are all strong admirers of Brighton’s midfield destroyer, Moises Caicedo.
The Ecuador international, 21, was signed for just £5m back in the summer of 2021, though fast forward 18 months and he’s now valued at 20 times that amount.
That’s according to the Times who report the Seagulls have quoted Chelsea a £100m price tag if Caicedo is to be prised away from the AMEX over the summer.
The Blues have already tabled a £55m offer this month that was quickly rejected. There’s been talk they could lodge a higher bid, though Brighton are determined to hold out for at least six months more.
Roberto De Zerbi’s side aren’t strapped for cash either given their recent £27m Leandro Trossard sale to Arsenal.
Trossard was the latest in a long line of lucrative sales Brighton have pulled off. Huge profits were also made on the likes of Ben White, Marc Cucurella and Yves Bissouma.
The Evening Standard reported Arsenal could rival Chelsea for Caicedo come the summer. Fabrizio Romano also put the Ecuadorian on the Gunners’ radar.
Over in Manchester, the MEN state United are ‘long-term admirers’, as are Liverpool. However, the Reds’ attention is focused solely on Jude Bellingham at present.
As such, the battle to sign Caicedo will be waged by Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal. All three would greatly benefit from adding Caicedo to their ranks.
Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea all have midfield concerns
United struck gold with Casemiro, though he’ll turn 31 next month and is far from a long-term option. Christian Eriksen’s defensive limitations in the double pivot were also ruthlessly exposed in the 3-2 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday.
Chelsea are poised to lose Jorginho to free agency at season’s end and N’Golo Kante is out of contract too.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have the excellent Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka anchoring their midfield. But again, age is a factor, with the pair 30 and 29 respectively.
What’s more, the Gunners are shoo-ins to qualify for next season’s Champions League and greater strength in depth will be required.
Their current back-up options in the engine room are far from convincing – Albert Sambi Lokonga and Mohamed Elneny.
With such high profile suitors in the mix, Brighton will fancy their chances of generating full market value for Caicedo.
In the event he is sold for £100m, he’d become just the second Premier League transfer to breach nine figures following Jack Grealish’s £100m move from Aston Villa to Man City.