The last few days of the January transfer window are expected to be dominated by Arsenal’s bid to sign Brighton striker Moises Caicedo.
The north London club has already added two players this month: Polish center-back Jakub Kiwior from Serie A team Spezia and Belgian winger Leandro Trossard from Brighton.
The Gunners will likely examine the subject this week as manager Mikel Arteta is also eager to sign a midfielder during the winter transfer window.
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A potential advantage has been handed to the Gunners in their pursuit of Caicedo.
Fabrizio Romano, a transfer expert, reports that Brighton has finalized the signing of AIK midfielder Yasin Ayari.
According to reports, the Swedish prodigy will pay the club €6 million (£5.2 million) and have his medical the following week.
Ayari will join De Zerbi’s team as a potential Caicedo replacement if everything goes according to plan.
Caicedo remains a difficult signing for Arsenal despite finding their own midfield replacement.
Despite continuous negotiations, Brighton has informed the team that their star is not for sale.
However, the loss of Ben White, Yves Bissouma, Marc Cucurella, and Leandro Trossard in the past has demonstrated the Seagulls’ ability to absorb hefty transfer fees.
Roberto De Zerbi, the manager of Brighton, has admitted that the team is “ready to move forward” without Moises Caicedo.
De Zerbi was questioned about the 21-year-old prior his team’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool, and then again before the final two days of the transfer window about the Caicedo transfer controversy.
After the victory, he said: “It’s already difficult for me to be a coach. To be a coach and a chairman would be too difficult but [Moises] Caicedo is a very, very good guy.”
“I can understand because when you are 21 and you receive a request from a big, big team that are playing in Europe, I can understand.”
“I would like for him to finish the season with us but we are ready to go forward without him. I think I need some players in some positions.”
“I spoke a lot of times with Tony [Bloom], he knows my opinion very well, because we are a good team but we can improve also from the transfer market window.”
