Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta during the pre season friendly between Arsenal XI and Watford at London Colney on July 08, 2023 in St Albans, England.

Arsenal set to lose out on mega-money target to Chelsea, with terms agreed on Blues deal: report

July 13, 2023 Sports 1 Views

Arsenal are set to lose out on one of their biggest summer targets to London rivals Chelsea.

The Gunners have been extremely busy in recent weeks in the transfer market, bringing in Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber for a combined £200 million. Only the former deal has so far been announced, the other two set to follow.

But after such a huge outlay, Arsenal need to balance the books before committing to more spending. Granit Xhaka has joined Bayer Leverkusen for £20m – but should manager Mikel Arteta shift a couple more fringe stars, he would like to add another midfielder.

Granit Xhaka of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Emirates Stadium on May 28, 2023 in London, England. — Granit Xhaka has left Arsenal – and more outgoings could follow (Image credit: Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, however, the chances of bringing long-term target Moises Caicedo to the Emirates Stadium are dwindling, with Chelsea looking at signing the Ecuadorian first.

“[I] understand Moises Caicedo deal is now ‘moving’ between Chelsea and Brighton,” the Italian journalist tweeted. “The two clubs are discussing [the] amount of [the] fixed fee.”

Arsenal wanted to bring the midfielder to north London towards the end of the January transfer window, as per The Athletic. But the player ultimately signed a new deal at the Amex to protect his value, with a release clause rumoured to be inserted should interest come in for him again.

Arteta has added Havertz to his options in midfield but a more defensive alternative may well be needed. Should he want to sign Caicedo, however, he will need to act fast to sell stars before committing what could well be another £100m – with Fabrizio Romano confirming that Chelsea have struck personal terms with the player and now only need to agree a fee.

Moises Caicedo of Brighton & Hove Albion during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion on 21 August, 2022 at the London Stadium in London, United Kingdom

Moises Caicedo of Brighton & Hove Albion is a target for London clubs (Image credit: Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)

Brighton have already lost Alexis Mac Allister this summer and are in a strong enough position financially to not need to sell Caicedo for any less than their valuation of him.

Transfermarkt values the midfielder at €75 million.