- Argentine midfielder attracting interest
- Ecuadorian star also in demand
- Seagulls insist neither is for sale
WHAT HAPPENED? Offers may be put to the Seagulls for a couple of prized assets now that another winter transfer window has swung open, with Mac Allister being linked with Juventus and Arsenal on the back of World Cup-winning exploits with Argentina at Qatar 2022. Caicedo, meanwhile, is said to be of interest to Liverpool, but Barber maintains that neither player is for sale.
WHAT THEY SAID: Barber has told The Argus of unwelcome exit talk at the Amex Stadium: “In an ideal world our squad, which is as good as it has been for a long time, will remain intact through the whole of January and we will go into the second half of the season as we are. The next 30-odd days is unpredictable and we will deal with whatever comes in. But we are not offering anyone to anyone.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Pressed on whether any approaches have been received for Mac Allister or Caicedo, Barber added: “No - and we don’t want any. We are quite happy as we are, certainly for as long as we can be. But we are also realistic. Alexis Mac Allister has just won a World Cup at 23 years of age and has had a fantastic season with us. We know there is going to be interest in Alexis. We know Moises Caicedo is one of the top talents. This is normal, this is the world we wanted to operate in and this is the world we are operating in. We can’t be surprised when there is interest and at some point we have to accept that these players will go on to play at an even higher level than ours. But, at the moment, we are going well. We are looking forward to the rest of the season and we want to try and keep our group together.”
IN TWO PHOTOS:
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GettyWHAT NEXT? Mac Allister has returned to Brighton after taking in a post-World Cup break, while Ecuadorian midfielder Caicedo has helped the Seagulls to ninth place in the Premier League table – with Roberto De Zerbi’s side due to be back in action on Tuesday away at Everton.