The agent of Moises Caicedo has criticised Brighton & Hove Albion for denying the midfielder his "dream" move to Arsenal.
The 21-year-old was the subject of two rejected bids from the Gunners worth £60m and £70m respectively, while Liverpool and Chelsea were also interested in his services, the latter seeing a £55m offer turned down.
Mikel Arteta was keen to bolster his midfield options in the January transfer window following the injury sustained by Mohamed Elneny, and the Spanish boss had identified Caicedo as one of his top targets.
After learning of Arsenal's interest and rejected offers, Caicedo released a statement on social media expressing his desire to leave Brighton and "take up this magnificent opportunity".
"I am grateful to Mr. Bloom (club chairman Tony Bloom) and Brighton for giving me the chance to come to the Premier League and I feel I have always done my best for them. I always play football with a smile and with heart," Caicedo posted.
"I am the youngest of 10 siblings from a poor upbringing in Santa Domingo in Ecuador. My dream always to be the most decorated player in the history of Ecuador.
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"I am proud to be able to bring in a record transfer fee for Brighton which would allow them to reinvest it and help the club continue to be successful.
"The fans have taken me into their hearts and they will always be in my heart so I hope they can understand why I want to take up this magnificent opportunity."
Despite Caicedo's plea to leave, Brighton insisted that the £100m-rated midfielder would not be sold in January and his potential switch to the Emirates Stadium ultimately failed to bear fruit.
Caicedo's agent Manuel Sierra, who represents agency Futbol Division, has since explained why the midfielder made his public request to leave Brighton and has slammed the Seagulls for denying the youngster his dream move.
"The offers were received, you see what is on the table and Moises says that he wants to go forward, that it is the dream of his whole life," Sierra told Marca90Ec as quoted by Ole. "That it is an opportunity that may not be repeated in life.
"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.
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"We don't know what can happen tomorrow, maybe he trains and gets injured. We can't know what's going to happen."
Shortly after releasing his statement, Caicedo was allegedly told by Brighton to stay away from first-team training until after the January transfer window closed.
The Ecuador international has since returned to training with Roberto De Zerbi's side this week and he is expected to be in contention to play for Brighton in Saturday's Premier League clash at home against Bournemouth.
Caicedo has quickly developed into a star player for Brighton since making his Premier League debut in February last year, and he has made a total of 31 appearances across all competitions, including 18 top-flight starts this season.
The midfielder is under contract at the Amex Stadium until the summer of 2025, but he is believed to still be of interest to Arsenal, who will allegedly consider reigniting their pursuit of the youngster ahead of the 2023-24 season along with West Ham United's Declan Rice.
After failing to lure Caicedo to North London, Arsenal eventually moved for Chelsea midfielder Jorginho, who has joined the Premier League leaders on an 18-month contract for a fee in the region of £12m.
Oliver Thomas
