Brighton’s dressing room is ‘sticking with’ Moises Caicedo despite the midfielder BEGGING to leave for Arsenal in January, reveals captain Lewis Dunk… with Gunners falling short with £70m bid
Brighton‘s squad will ‘stick with’ Moises Caicedo despite the Ecuadorian begging to leave the club for Arsenal in January, reveals captain Lewis Dunk.
Arsenal showed strong interest in the Ecuadorian midfielder and had two offers rejected for him, the second of which was worth £70million.
Caicedo pushed for a move, going public with his pleas on social media, but Brighton stood firm and now Dunk believes it is incumbent on his team-mates to help alleviate the ‘difficult situation’.
‘Obviously it was a difficult situation for him and these things happen in football,’ Dunk told talkSPORT.
‘It’s not the first and won’t be the last time players at a football club have this going on over their head.’
Moises Caicedo was forced to stay at Brighton in January after Arsenal’s bids were rejected
The 21-year-old expressed his desire to leave Brighton in a social media post during January
Caicedo, described as a ‘great lad’ by Dunk, was banned from first-team training as a result of his antics on social media.
He was left out of the Seagulls’ FA Cup win over Liverpool on January 30 but was reintroduced to the group for the 1-0 win over Bournemouth, where he came off the bench.
‘He’s a young boy and we stick with him,’ Dunk added. ‘He’s a great lad and obviously a fantastic player. Who knows how long we’ll have him for and we’re grateful to have him for at least the rest of the season and hopefully for longer.
‘I think it’s a massive statement from the club, standing their ground.
‘Obviously we’ve sold players over the years to bigger clubs but I think it’s a great statement to show that we want to keep him and I think rightly so.’
Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi has insisted there is no issue moving forward with Caicedo but it has played out messy since the window closed.
Captain Lewis Dunk (left) called Caicedo (right) a ‘great lad’ and said the squad is behind him
Brighton chairman Tony Bloom refused to allow Caicedo to sign for Arsenal in January
The midfielder’s agent hit out at Brighton for denying…