Moises Caicedo says club will ‘stick with him’ after £80m Arsenal transfer controversy

Seagulls centre-back Lewis Dunk says the team ignored the Ecuadorian midfielder’s bid to sign for the Premier League leaders in January, with two big offers turned down by Brighton.

Caicedo, 21, was back for Brighton in the weekend’s win over Bournemouth as he came on the bench.

And Dunk accepts the south coast club could still lose him this summer, but insists Arsenal’s failure last month was a “massive statement” from Roberto De Zerbi.

“Obviously it was a difficult situation for him and these things happen in football,” he told talkSPORT. “It’s not the first and it won’t be the last time players at a football club have had this over their heads.

“He is a young boy and we are staying with him. He’s a big boy and obviously a fantastic player. Who knows how long we will have him and we are grateful to have him at least for the rest of the season and hopefully longer.

“I think it’s a massive statement from the club, holding on. Obviously we’ve sold players over the years to bigger clubs, but I think it’s a great statement to show that we want the keep and I rightly think.