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Arsenal are still interested in signing Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo after he failed with a £70m offer in January, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The Gunners had made Ukrainian winger Mykhaylo Mudryk their main winter target before he joined Chelsea, with Mikel Arteta alternatively signing Leandro Trossard from Brighton.
After losing Mudryk, Arteta decided to go after a defensive midfielder and went after Caicedo aggressively.
Arsenal have rejected two offers from Brighton and were willing to spend £70m on the Ecuadorian international.
After signing Trossard as a cheap alternative to Mudryk, Arteta brought in Chelsea’s Jorginho for a measly £12million.
Despite the signing of Jorginho, the Gunners remain in the market for a new midfielder.
West Ham’s Declan Rice is believed to be their number one priority going into the summer transfer window, although he has also been linked with Southampton youngster Romeo Lavia and Caicedo.
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Caicedo is attracting interest from a number of Premier League clubs with Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.
It’s no surprise to see so much interest in the 21-year-old, who has been outstanding on the south coast and is a huge reason why Brighton have been so successful this season.
The Seagulls are pushing for a Champions League place and have an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United to look forward to.
Even if they finish in the top four of the Premier League, many questions are expected to be asked about the club’s top talent.
Alexis Mac Allister is another player expected to leave at the end of the season with Liverpool and United preparing a bid.
Caicedo is arguably Brighton’s most valuable asset, however, and a highly desirable player for top clubs.
The importance of having a top-class defensive midfielder is growing and they are a rare breed, with only a few clubs lucky enough to have an elite number 6 available.
Rodri from Manchester City and Casemiro from United come to mind, and Caicedo is on the verge of being in the same bracket as those two players.
And with Arsenal struggling to rely on Thomas Partey – who is frequently injured – it has been said by transfer pundit Fabrizio Romano that Arteta is still eager to bring Caicedo to the Emirates.
Partey has been excellent this season but has proven unreliable and has actually struggled on the pitch in recent weeks, which has directly impacted the Gunners’ results.
Writing in his CaughtOffside column, Romano said Arsenal «are still interested», although «there are more English clubs keeping an eye on his situation».
Romano adds that Real Madrid are the player’s «dream club». which Caicedo admitted earlier this week.
However, there don’t seem to be any ‘concrete talks’ going on with the European champions.
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