"Still has more to come" – Craig Burley urges Arsenal to sign Chelsea target after selling Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka

Former Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley has urged Arsenal to launch a permanent move to sign Brighton & Hove Albion star Moises Caicedo.

The Gunners are currently in the midst of a midfield rebuild with Declan Rice set to arrive on a £105 million move from West Ham United in the future. They are also likely to offload Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey.

Speaking on ESPN, Burley urged Arsenal to cash in on both Xhaka and Partey this summer to raise significant transfer funds. He elaborated:

"If they can get rid of Granit Xhaka, I don't know whether the move has happened, but I think he is joining Leverkusen. If they can sell Thomas Partey as well, who had a pretty good season to the last sort of 10 or 12 games. There is talk of Saudi Arabia for him too."

Claiming that the Gunners could sign the Chelsea target, Burley added:

"But if they could sell them for a bit more money, then you would be asking for another player and it would be Caicedo from Brighton."

Burley heaped praise on the Arsenal and Chelsea-linked star, adding:

"He is 21. He can defend, get forward, is very good on the ball. He still has more to come out of him and he has the energy to cover the pitch. I think that would be a better balance between him and Declan Rice, with Martin Odegaard somewhere floating around."

Caicedo, 21, has emerged as a hot topic of transfer speculation of late owing to his stellar performances for Brighton & Hove Albion. He has registered two goals and three assists in 53 games for his club so far.

According to The Telegraph, Brighton have set a £100 million price tag on Caicedo following news about Rice's hefty nine-digit transfer sum.

Southampton manager offers Romeo Lavia thoughts amidst Chelsea and Arsenal links

Speaking to BBC Radio Solent, Southampton manager Russell Martin claimed that he may be unable to stop players from leaving. He said:

"I hope I can convince some people to stay who were 50-50 about it. I think there will be some players who we can't avoid losing... who will be keen to return to the Premier League this summer itself."

With Southampton suffering relegation last summer, Romeo Lavia has emerged as a top target for a handful of Premier League sides. He has attracted strong interest from Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal of late.

Lavia, 19, joined Southampton from Manchester City for an initial £10.5 million in 2022. He scored once in 35 matches for them last campaign.