Manchester United have suffered a blow in regard to a transfer target that Erik ten Hag was hoping to sign for the club and bolster their midfield options.

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That’s according to Dharmesh Sheth, who was speaking to GIVEMESPORT about Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo.

The Sky Sports reporter said: “Moises Caicedo is one that I was told about, that Manchester United were interested in and that they were expected to bid for. But I think the response, even before they got to the bidding stage, from Brighton was that he is simply not for sale. To consider anything you were talking upwards of £70 million.”

The price tag was simply too high for Ten Hag to consider bidding upon and he will have to pursue other targets, although missing out on Caicedo could be a mistake.

Caicedo could have been Ten Hag’s own Kante

The Dutchman got off to an ominous start at Old Trafford, with United suffering dreadful defeats to Brighton and Brentford in their opening two Premier League matches of the campaign.

A morale-boosting victory over Liverpool on Monday will hopefully be the catalyst for better things to come, but there are still improvements to be made, especially in the centre of the pitch.

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Caicedo has been compared to Chelsea stalwart N’Golo Kante, with both being noted as excellent box-to-box players with the ability to control possession in the heart of the midfield.

Renowned South American journalist Tim Vickery spoke to talkSPORT last year about the youngster, saying “A year ago, he was talking about Kante of Chelsea being his role model and he is already more than that.”

He also dubbed the Ecuadorian “wonderful”, and Brighton certainly appear to have signed a gem in the making when they clinched a deal for him in early 2021.

In just eight league appearances for Brighton last term, he averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.04, scoring once (against United, coincidentally) while also registering one assist.

He won 58% of his total duels, completed 70% of his attempted dribbles and made two tackles per match to justify the Kante comparisons, contributing to his team's defensive and attacking needs.

Journalist Sam Tabuteau described Caicedo as “top-notch”, and while the 20-year-old's recent performances have been excellent, it surely is only a flavour of the wonderful things that are set to come from him.