The agent of Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo has opened up on the series of events leading to the Ecuador international's public request for a transfer in January.
After an enquiry from Chelsea was knocked back earlier in the window, it was a £60m bid from Arsenal which kick-started the saga. Brighton rejected that offer and insisted they did not want to sell Caicedo, who went public to ask to be granted the chance to leave the club before the end of the transfer window.
Brighton denied his request and gave Caicedo some time off until the end of the transfer window, before which Arsenal failed with an improved offer as Brighton held firm.
Now, Caicedo's new agent, Manuel Sierra, has explained why they chose to release their statement.
"The offers were received, you see what was on the table and Moises said that he wanted to go forward," Sierra told Marca90. "It is the dream of his whole life, an opportunity that may not be repeated in life, so we helped draft the statement.
"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, but we don't know what can happen tomorrow. Maybe he gets injured in training. We can't know what is going to happen.
"Moises asked the club for permission to publish the statement. He did not train and he did not go to the Liverpool game because they decided to give him the weekend off. Brighton did not banish him. They understood the situation and they love him very much. It was a consensual agreement."
Caicedo is now back in training with Brighton but is expected to attract renewed interest in the summer transfer window, although whether Arsenal or Chelsea will reignite their pursuits remains to be seen.
Arsenal brought Jorginho over from Stamford Bridge on Deadline Day, before Chelsea parted with a cool £106m to lure Enzo Fernandez over from Benfica.
