For a moment, the invitation was dangling there.

For a moment, Albion supporters at the Amex or logged on via YouTube, watched with bated breath.

Whether on purpose or not, Awards Night co-host Alex Aljoe capped her own polished performance by sliding a delicious low ball across the face of an open goal.

She asked Moises Caicedo, crowned player of the year both by fellow players and the fans, what he wanted to say to his adoring public.

You sensed the expectation in the Mayo Wynne Baxter Lounge as the midfielder took his time over an answer.

Go on Moises, tell us you are staying with Brighton.

Having assured us how happy you are, having asked why not give your all for this club which “opened the doors” (the same phrase as Alexis Mac Allister used so often), put the transfer talk to bed.

Bring the house down right here, right now.

It was, of course, an unfair wish, an unreasonable hope.

We are all reading too much into a lot of things at the moment.

Caicedo, delivering the best (possibly first) English most of us have ever heard from him, thanked fans again, then spoke about the influence of his parents and said he would give the award to his mum.

The final line, at last, in the long and twisting tale of the 2022-23 season was written at the Amex fairly late last night.

Of course it was asking too much for any great declaration of ongoing commitment – or a farewell.

But the evening underlined how a transfer window can overshadow everything else in football at this time of year.

If you allow it to.

If you read all the snippets, then read them again copy-and-pasted and prefixed by the words “I hear” or “Understand”.

Or if you go on to social media to read tweets which don’t matter from people you don't know, half-hoping to be irritated by them.

And so it happened here, as a night celebrating all that was good about Albion and looking forward to new frontiers became a “will he, won’t he?” transfer debate.

If you allowed it to.

There is no getting away from the fact Caicedo could move on this summer.

There is no getting away from the fact his award double emulated that of Marc Cucurella last year – and that he then signed for Chelsea.

But common sense reminds you the two cases are totally separate and very different.

Player of the year awards go to the best players.

The best players attract interest from other clubs.

So it is no surprise that players of the year often move on – and not just at Brighton. But that does not have to happen.

Caicedo, as a young man literally in the spotlight, staring at a sea of faces – including those of his mates – and speaking in a foreign language, handled it well when he was called on to stage not once but twice.

He has told The Argus previously about how his mum and dad used to urge him not to react when he was kicked on the pitch, not to retaliate and embarrass himself.

That is how he keeps a cool head when he is taken out from behind in the midfield battles these days.

He knows his mum will tell him off if he loses his temper.

Here, having thanked fans and team-mates, he gave us all a great line to go home with, telling his audience: “I do this for my family because they are my inspiration.

“My mum and dad always were there for me in good and bad moments.

“I am going to give my mum this present (the trophy).

“She is here in Brighton. I am going to arrive in my flat and say: ‘Mum, this is for you.”

So he is happy at Brighton. That’s great.

You can be happy in one place AND simultaneously be tempted by a new challenge elsewhere.

But Tuesday night did not have to be about transfer chat.

We know what has happened so far.

We still awaited confirmation of Deniz Undav’s loan at Stuttgart and we suspected Robert Sanchez might make the move to Chelsea.

Meanwhile, we will continue to admire some of the great work, and touching stories, which are associated with the football club and its Football Foundation (formerly Albion In The Community).

Stuff which endures far beyond players coming and going.

The room fell silent to hear about supporter of the year Jane McKnight, who suffers from multiple sclerosis but travels from her home in Lincolnshire to attend games, and about Foundation Award winner David Bennett.

David has attended disability football sessions since about the time Albion were struggling in the fourth tier and organising litter patrols at Withdean.

The Robert Eaton Memorial Fund, which has raised £330,000 since 2001 having risen from tragic events of 9/11, received the Sarah Watts Inspiration Award.

Katie Robinson, who sent a video message from the Lionesses’s camp at the World Cup, and Julia Zigiotti shared the women’s teams awards.

Their head coach Melissa Phillips and newly-returned men’s under-18s boss Inigo Calderon were among the audience.

There were awards for Julio Enciso for goal of the season (at home to Manchester City) and Evan Ferguson, who was young player of the year (for which presumably Caicedo was also eligible at the age of 21).

Tony Bloom said his highlight of last season was the first win for Roberto De Zerbi.

The fans present quickly put two and two together and, quite rightly, came up with 4-1 at home to Chelsea.

That game was celebrated. There was a lot of looking back.

It is fantastic to reflect on great moments and Awards Night is always a good occasion at the end of the season.

Only this wasn’t the end of the season. This was less than a fortnight before the new campaign.

We know why the gala evening was delayed with Albion too busy to fit it in during the final weeks of last season.

Still, in some ways it did not feel right to still be looking back, wallowing in past glories with the next, even bigger, challenge already at hand.

“It is finished, no?” De Zerbi said of last season. “We have to forget, we have to start another great season.”

But there is another side to having the awards night in August.

What a scene-setter, what a way to whet the appetite for the coming months.

De Zerbi said: “We want to start the season in the best way.

“We know it will be tougher than last season because we are not a surprise.

“We are Brighton, we are not a big, big team yet but I think to beat Brighton will be very tough for all teams.”

So bring it on - and let’s see who is on board for the ride.