Liverpool have completed the signing of Alexis Mac Allister in a £35million deal from Brighton, according to Fabrizio Romano, so what does this mean for another of the Seagulls’ in-demand stars this summer?
Moises Caicedo is another star player at Brighton and he won’t be short of suitors as CaughtOffside columnist Ben Jacobs mentioned the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea in his column yesterday.
Not so long ago, however, Jacobs also told us that Brighton were not at all keen on letting both midfielders leave the club in the same transfer window, especially if they qualify for Europe, which ended up happening.
One imagines Mac Allister’s price tag could also be key, as it looks like Brighton have lost a hugely influential talent for surprisingly cheap.
It’s hard to imagine Brighton won’t now demand a huge sum for Caicedo, and it remains to be seen if the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea will go that high, or look at other options instead.
The Gunners, for one, already seem to be focusing on West Ham’s Declan Rice as their priority in that position, according to the Evening Standard, while Chelsea have also looked at Romeo Lavia, according to the Daily Mail, who could surely be a more realistic target due to Southampton’s relegation.
What have Brighton said about Mac Allister and Caicedo?
Towards the end of the season, however, Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi did seem to concede that there was a chance of both Mac Allister and Caicedo leaving in the same window, so things may have changed since Jacobs’ report for us in April.
“It can be the last game but I don’t know,” De Zerbi said after the team’s last home game of the season, as quoted by the Mail.
“They can have the possibility to change (clubs) because they deserve to play in another level.
“But now we can offer them the possibility to play in Europe because our level is bigger now. We can offer them one possibility more.
“When I work, I think for myself, I think for my club but I think still for the players because the players have one career, one life and we can’t decide for them.
“I don’t know what Tony (Bloom, Brighton owner) can decide but if they want to leave, for myself, it’s right they leave.”
In short, this won’t be the easiest deal to get done, but it does seem like the opportunity for Arsenal, Chelsea and others to land Caicedo will not definitively end with Mac Allister joining Liverpool.