Roberto De Zerbi confirms Brighton are ready to SELL Moises Caicedo to Arsenal

The Ecuadorian midfielder has made a surprise public transfer request after the Premier League leaders had a £60m offer rejected by Brighton, after rejecting a £55m offer from Chelsea earlier in the window.

Speaking after his side’s 2-1 FA Cup win over Liverpool – which Caicedo missed – De Zerbi suggested he was ready to use the player’s sale to improve his squad in the final days of the window. January.

“Caicedo is a very, very good guy,” he told reporters.

“I can understand because when you’re 21 and you have a request from a big team, they play in Europe.

“I would like him to finish the season with us. But we are ready to go ahead without him – I think we need players in certain positions.

“I spoke a lot with [Brighton chairman] Tony [Bloom], he knows my opinion very well. We are a good team but we can improve from the transfer window.

“We’ve lost [Leandro] Trossard and if we also lose Caicedo, it can be a problem for us if we want to fight for Europe.

Caicedo was told not to show up for Brighton training after pleading on social media to be sold to Arsenal, which De Zerbi said was the job of others around the youngster.

He added: “I was surprised, but I can understand where the mistake started.

“I don’t know if you understand, but Moises is a good guy. I think [he is being influenced by others].”