Moises Caicedo's agent explains why midfielder asked to join Arsenal

The Premier League leaders saw two bids for the 21-year-old rejected in the January transfer window, reported at £60m and £70m respectively, as Brighton refused to sell the 21-year-old before the end of this season.

After Albion rebuffed Arsenal’s second bid on Friday (January 27), Caicedo released a social media post in which he pleaded with the club to let him leave.

Critics believed the post had been written by Caicedo’s new agent, Manuel Sierra, who is a part of the Futbol Division agency, one of the biggest football agent companies in South America.

However, Sierra has today defended himself on Ecuadorian media station Marca90Ec, claiming that the move had been Caicedo’s ‘dream his whole life’, rather then being something entirely agent-driven.

Sierra said: “The offers were received, you see what is on the table and Moisés [Caicedo] says that he wants to go forward, that it is the dream of his whole life. That it is an opportunity that may not be repeated in life.

“And we helped draft the [Instagram and Twitter] statement. In that statement, he expresses his wish and his gratitude to the club because they gave him the chance to fulfil his dream of playing in the Premier League. We don’t know what can happen tomorrow, maybe he trains and gets injured. We can’t know what’s going to happen.”

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Confusion around the statement stems from an interview Caicedo did with The Argus on Tuesday (January 24), in which he dismissed any transfer talk and said he focused on playing for Brighton.

The Ecuador International told The Argus: “No. To be sincere with you, I am focused now on Brighton I am here, I’m playing every day.

“What happens outside doesn’t trouble me, nor does it take that focus away because I’m focused only on here. I’m here today, I’ll be here tomorrow and then we will see.”

After releasing the social media post, Caicedo was not selected by Roberto De Zerbi for Albion’s 2-1 win over Liverpool in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday, January 29.

The midfielder was given time off until the end of the transfer to refocus for the second half of the season and reported back to training yesterday (February 1).

He is expected to be available for selection for Albion’s home game against Bournemouth this Saturday (February 4).