Arsenal and Liverpool made serious efforts to sign Moisés Caicedo before he ended up at Chelsea in August 2023.
The Ecuador international arrived in Europe for the first time when Brighton & Hove Albion signed him from Independiente del Valle in January 2021. His displays for the Seagulls saw Arsenal make an effort to sign him, months before he moved Chelsea.
Chelsea initially wanted to sign him in January 2023, but Brighton weren’t interested. The Blues maintained their interest in the midfielder, and this helped them beat Liverpool to secure his services.
Caicedo’s agent Manuel Sierra has been speaking to MachDeportes, relayed by Olé, about the efforts made by Arsenal to sign the 23-year-old.
“Unfortunately, there is a lot of fake news. Nothing is checked and they just throw out a headline and that’s enough to put their minds at rest. That is a big mistake. They talk about so many millions, and it wasn’t like that,” he said.
“Arsenal and Chelsea, in the last days of the market, wanted Moisés. In January 2023, the Blues went up. But the club wouldn’t let them, that’s Brighton.”
The deal didn’t take shape then and while Arsenal gave up, Chelsea persisted with their desire to bring Caicedo to Stamford Bridge.
The west London club faced competition from Liverpool, but the player gave priority to Chelsea, after they made a decisive effort to meet the Reds’ offer.
“And in summer 2023, since April, many teams called, the best in the world. But like everything, the law of supply and demand. There are beginning to be historic transfers and, in the end, well, Brighton get very tough,” Sierra explained.
“Since April, Chelsea were dying for Moi [Moisés]. Liverpool appeared in the equation, but we always gave the floor to Chelsea. They matched Liverpool’s offer and signed him.”
Last season, the South American made 48 appearances for Chelsea and was the subject of criticism on several occasions, which impacted him.
“Moisés is very sensitive, things affect him a lot in the short term, but he is a titan and a warrior as you see him on the pitch. And over time we have seen the best version of him. For his football he has been applauded by many. We as representatives try to be with him as a family so that he always gets up,” the agent added.
