Brighton and Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi has admitted that the club will lose Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister in the summer.
The Seagulls have romanced the idea of playing without both midfielders for a while now and despite their efforts to keep both players beyond the ongoing season, they are set to depart the AMEX Stadium in the summer transfer window.
Caicedo caused some drama in January when, after it emerged that Arsenal wanted him and were going to offer him more than what he earned at Brighton, he took to social media to try to force a move.
He put out an emotional post detailing his desire to uplift his family out of poverty and win titles with a big team, angering Brighton fans. The club dealt with it smartly and ended up signing the young Ecuadorian midfielder to a new deal, which increased his earnings and also the fee for which he could be moved on in the future.
Mac Allister’s case was a little more straightforward. There was interest in the midfielder which he was silently considering while openly stating his desire to remain with the Seagulls.
The club’s management would then tie him down to a new contract just before the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar with the same idea they used to sort out Caicedo.
Both midfielders have gone on to put in fine performances for the team in their record breaking season, further increasing the list of clubs looking to sign them and Brighton’s negotiating power.
Caicedo and Mac Allister have helped Brighton into the top six and both could now miss out on a historic European campaign with the Seagulls in the new season. This is according to De Zerbi, who was speaking after his team beat Arsenal 3 – 0 at the Emirates to climb into sixth place ahead of Tottenham Hotspur and stunt the Gunners’ title chances.
“For sure we will lose some players, maybe Caicedo, maybe Mac Allister. We have to be ready to bring other good players,” the Italian said to Sky Sports.
He then went on to comment on a few of his players who are attracting lots of interest from clubs across Europe. “For the others, Mitoma, Estupinan… the best solution is to stay with us,” he said. “I don’t know if they are ready to play in the big teams.
“You can explain better than me. To play in the big, big teams you have to arrive ready in the head. And we can offer them the possibility to grow, to improve. We have to improve our mentality.”
De Zerbi has less games to manage now as the season rounds up but made allusions to their slump in form a few games ago thanks to their busy schedule. Per his comments, the team would be in a much better position if they were used to busier schedules like the big teams.
Their next three tests are the toughest in this stretch. To hold on to sixth, they have to deal with Newcastle United at the weekend, then face a Southampton team with nothing to lose and then champions-in-waiting, Manchester City.
