Arsenal have called it a day in their pursuit of reported Liverpool target Moises Caicedo.
The Gunners have been pushing hard to sign the Ecuadorian at the end of the January transfer window. Caicedo even put out an extraordinary statement urging Brighton to let him leave the club.
But now, as per journalist David Ornstein, that isn’t going to happen. Taking to Twitter this morning, deadline day, Ornstein claimed that Arsenal have ‘accepted’ that Brighton’s no-sale stance cannot be altered today.
Instead, the table-toppers will reportedly push to sign Jorginho from Chelsea. On a quiet day for Liverpool, perhaps this could end up being good news in their own pursuit of Caicedo.
Liverpool get Caicedo second chance
Brighton may have tormented Liverpool recently, but they could have just done them a bit of a favour here.
Over the last handful of days it has looked inevitable that Caicedo would be leaving the South Coast. With Liverpool reportedly balking at his valuation, that was never going to be to Anfield.
But now, with the 21-year-old going nowhere, the market should open up for the Reds in the summer.
It’s been claimed that Caicedo’s price is likely to drop from the £75m Brighton were quoting suitors this winter. As a result of Liverpool’s long-standing interest in him, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them return then.
Of course, Arsenal are likely to be back too. So too may be Chelsea. But with the Seagulls perhaps unimpressed by the conduct of the teams who forced their player into a public transfer request, Liverpool could hold an advantage.
Unless anything dramatic happens, it looks like the Reds will get a second chance at landing Caicedo. Expect this one to rumble on until the summer. In the meantime, it’ll be interesting to see how the youngster responds to this set-back.
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