Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has reportedly told the club’s hierarchy that he wants one Premier League player ‘at all costs’ this summer.
One of the priorities for the Gunners is to sign a new midfielder. West Ham United’s Declan Rice is among their targets but they also ‘remain interest’ in Brighton’s Moises Caicedo.
Caicedo was one of Arsenal’s top targets during the January transfer window. After Chelsea had a bid rejected for him, the Gunners failed with a couple of offers of their own.
The Seagulls were unwilling to sell their prized asset in January and Arsenal instead brought in Jorginho from Chelsea as a low-cost alternative.
But Spanish outlet Nacional are now claiming that one of Arsenal and Arteta’s ‘obsessions’ is to sign Caicedo. The head coach wants to ‘have the Ecuadorian international at his command at all costs’.
Arteta reportedly knows that ‘it is necessary to incorporate one more piece’ to his midfield and he has ‘no doubts’ Caicedo is his ‘best option’.
A deal for Caicedo would apparently ‘not cost less than 60 million euros’, which is pretty obvious given Brighton asked for around £20m more than that during the winter.
Caicedo’s situation needs to be ‘followed very closely’ as Arsenal are already making a ‘considerable effort’ to sign him.
But speaking earlier this month, Caicedo admitted that his “biggest dream” is to play for La Liga giants Real Madrid.
“I’m doing things very well now; so why not join Real Madrid one day and win the Champions League? It’s my biggest dream,” Caicedo revealed.
“It’s very nice to see how Madrid plays and the personality that players like Vinicius [Junior], [Eduardo] Camavinga, [Federico] Valverde have. I also really enjoy watching [Toni] Kroos. To play for Madrid you have to work very hard.”
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When asked about the pressure that comes with several Premier League being interested in his services, Caicedo insisted he knows how to ensure he focuses on having fun.
“The only thing I want is to have fun on the pitch,” he stressed. “The pressure doesn’t affect me.
“What I want to do now is to win titles and listen to the Champions League anthem, it’s my next step. I might even cry when I hear it.”
Caicedo’s recent comments are referenced in the report by Nacional. He has reportedly ‘ordered his agent’ to try to…
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