By Frank Dalleres
Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi urged the club to resist late offers for £80m-rated Arsenal and Chelsea target Moises Caicedo before Tuesday’s transfer deadline after dumping Liverpool out of the FA Cup on Sunday.
The Seagulls came from a goal down to beat Jurgen Klopp’s team for the second time in a month, with Koaru Mitoma’s brilliant strike clinching a 2-1 win after Lewis Dunk had cancelled out Harvey Elliott’s opening goal.
Caicedo missed the fourth-round match after going public with his desire to leave Brighton, following bids from Arsenal and Chelsea, and De Zerbi reiterated his hope that the club would hold onto the Ecuador midfielder.
“Caicedo is a very good guy. I can understand him because when you are 21 and you receive the request of a big team playing in European competition,” said De Zerbi.
“I would like him to finish the season with us but we are ready to go forward without him. I think we need some players in some positions. [Chairman] Tony Bloom knows my opinion.
“We are a good team but can improve also in the transfer window. We lost [Leandro] Trossard and if we also lose Caicedo it can be a problem for us if we want to fight for Europe.”
Brighton rejected bids of £60m from Arsenal and £55m from big-spending Chelsea for Caicedo earlier in the January transfer window and are reported to want at least £80m for the player.
Liverpool manager Klopp was heartened that his team were more competitive than in a 3-0 defeat at Brighton just over a fortnight ago, which he called the low point of his time in charge.
“We had the game in mind from a couple of weeks ago which was pretty much the bottom of my time,” said Klopp.
“So this was better, much better. It doesn’t feel great, obviously. But we have to take it. This is really a way you can get knocked out of a cup. We want to make the final step and that is why this defeat is not especially bad in this moment.”
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