Man Utd turned down signing Brighton wonderkid Moises Caicedo for just £4.5MILLION due to concerns over agent fees
MANCHESTER UNITED turned down the opportunity to sign Brighton star Moises Caicedo for a bargain in 2021.
Caicedo has stood out at the Amex Stadium this season and helped the Seagulls beat United 2-1 in their Premier League opener at Old Trafford.
According to The Athletic, the Red Devils held talks with the midfielder’s former club Independiente del Valle in February 2021 and walked out of a deal that would have cost them a mere £4.5m.
The Manchester giants turned their attention elsewhere due to complications over payments to various agents.
But Brighton swopped in and figured out a way to sort out those payments to get the Ecuador international.
The 21-year-old was then sent out on loan to Belgian outfit Beerschot in order to acclimatise to European football.
Former Brighton chief Graham Potter brought Caicedo back at the end of last season to replace Yves Bissouma, who joined Tottenham.
The Ecuadorian has been doing a fine job filling in for Bissouma and has been a mainstay under Potter and now Roberto De Zerbi – missing just 102 minutes of Premier League action.
He also scored his first goal during September’s thrilling 5-2 win over Leicester.
United had been in need of reinforcement in midfield after Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic’s departure as free agents.
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The Red Devils, though, brought in Casmeiro and Christian Eriksen to play in the middle of the park and both men have thrived under Erik ten Hag.
Caicedo is considered a bright prospect as he has already registered 28 caps with the Ecuadorian national team – including three at the World Cup in Qatar – despite his young age.
But Brighton face a tough task keeping hold of the midfield ace.
Chelsea are at the front of the queue to land him in the transfer market.
A £65m bid was reportedly rejected but the Blues and Potter may well go back in for Caicedo.
Brighton want to hold out for around £75m and De Zerbi confirmed he desperately wants the ace to stay until the summer.
