Transfer news: Brighton rejects Chelsea’s £80m bid for £100m Caicedo; Gumbau joins Granada for free

Brighton rejects Chelsea’s new £80m bid for £100m Moises Caicedo’

Chelsea have had an £80m bid rejected by Brighton for midfielder Moises Caicedo, according to a report.

Mail Sport reported earlier this month the Blues had a £70m offer for the Ecuador international rejected with Brighton seeking more.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea’s second offer was turned down immediately. Negotiations are ongoing but an agreement is not close between the two clubs.

Gerard Gumbau joins Granada on a free transfer

Granada is currently gearing up for their first season back in LaLiga. The Andalusian club secured promotion from the second tier of Spanish football in 2022-23 as champions, and they will be hoping to avoid immediate relegation when the new campaign gets underway soon.

Los Nazaries have already signed Shon Weissman and Famara Diedhiou this summer, and they recently completed the signing of Real Madrid defender Jesus Vallejo on a season-long loan deal. They have now made another addition after completing a deal for Gerard Gumbau.

Gumbau was a free agent after leaving relegated Elche when his contract expired earlier this summer, and he will now bolster Granada’s midfield options for the new season. The 28-year-old has also previously played for Barcelona, Leganes and Girona.

Gumbau was one of few players to impress for Elche during their utterly dismal 2022-23 campaign, and Granada will hope that he can make an impact when the new LaLiga season gets underway in just over two weeks.

Folarin Balogun transfer twist emerges as Arsenal makes £70m decision

Arsenal transfer news: Gunners striker Folarin Balogun has become one of Mikel Arteta’s most in-demand stars having been left out of the win over Barcelona.

Folarin Balogun’s future at Arsenal has taken another twist after the striker missed the Gunners’ pre-season friendly win over Barcelona on Thursday morning.

The striker was left out of Mikel Arteta’s squad in California after training separately from his teammates on Monday. His future at the club has been in doubt for some time having found himself below Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah in the pecking order.

When asked if Balogun would be part of his plans this season, Arteta replied: “We will see. First of all, he needs to be fit and play minutes.”

football. London understands that the club will let the USMNT star leave at the right price. A £50m price tag has been slapped on the 22-year-old’s head, a valuation yet to be offered by any interested parties.

Reports in Italy in the past week have claimed that Inter Milan was preparing a season-long loan move for the striker, paying an initial €5miliion (£4.2million) with a mandatory €35million (£29.9million) fee included as part of the deal.

Now, the Independent is reporting that Inter’s fierce rivals AC Milan have reinstated their interest in Balogun and will go head-to-head with the Nerazzurri to land the forward.

The report goes on to suggest that Arsenal is looking to raise close to £70m through the sales of Balogun and Kieran Tierney. The left-back has been linked with a return to Celtic this summer having lost his place in Arteta’s squad to Oleksandr Zinchenko.

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