‘I would have driven him to Arsenal’

Brighton’s decision not to accept Arsenal’s £70million bid for Moises Caicedo has been branded ‘ridiculous’ by Danny Murphy.

The Gunners tried and failed to sign the Seagulls star until deadline day, as Brighton stood firm and insisted the midfielder was not for sale despite the player begging his club to let him go.

Arsenal eventually were forced to look elsewhere for midfield reinforcements, signing Jorginho from London rivals Chelsea for £12million as Mikel Arteta looks to maintain his side’s Premier League title quest.

Reports claim Brighton were left annoyed by the Gunners’ repeated attempts to sign Caicedo, even after they had sent out a ‘hands off’ message over the 21-year-old.

Arsenal’s last bid for the Ecuadorian, who only joined Brighton in 2021, totalled £70m.

And former Liverpool and Tottenham midfielder Murphy says the south coast club were mad not to accept such a big offer for a player who has made just 26 Premier League appearances.

“I don’t agree [with what Brighton did],” he told White and Jordan on talkSPORT.

“For £70m I would have driven Caicedo there.

“They won’t think they needed to, because they think they’ll get it in the summer

“But it’s ridiculous. He could do his cruciate next month.”

talkSPORT co-host Simon Jordan, though, put his former club owner hat on and defended Brighton’s decision to keep hold of the star.

The ex-Crystal Palace chairman said: “They didn’t need to [sell in January], they’ve booked £60m in profit from player sales this year.

“I understand why many would say they still should have [sold to Arsenal], but they’ve got a manager in the door and they’ve already let Leandro Trossard go [to Arsenal], they need to give him the tools to do a job.”

But Murphy replied: “Something like this can change the mindset of a player overnight.

“Subconsciously on the pitch he might be thinking about having missed out on that move, and that can weigh heavy on you.

“I’m sure he’s a good kid and he’s professional, but I’m just saying it’s a possibility it will weigh on him.

“And the fact is £70m, he’s a good player, but that’s a more than fair price.”