According to Fabrizio Romano, Brighton are seeking to take advantage of FFP concerns elsewhere by quickly signing Crysencio Summerville from Leeds United.
On June 17, the Italian writer wrote on his Daily Briefing mailbag that the Seagulls’ purchase of the Dutch winger was a “concrete possibility” since their finances are “absolutely perfect” and a transfer has been sanctioned by new manager Fabian Herzeler.
Liverpool and Chelsea are also interested in the Elland Road star, but Brighton has contacted Leeds to begin talks in order to complete a deal as soon as possible, with a price range of £35 million to £40 million expected.
Romano stated: “It’s a real possibility. Brighton is trying. It’s a tough situation since so many clubs are interested in this amazing talent, so Brighton is certainly trying to move quickly.
“We know that the financial fair play scenario for many large teams is difficult right now, therefore Brighton is attempting to take advantage of this. From a financial standpoint, they are completely excellent, so they have the option of making some investments, and acquiring a player like Summerville would be a huge opportunity.
“What I’m hearing is that Brighton made contact in recent hours to explore the possibility to attack this situation.”
Brighton outperforms Liverpool and Chelsea in Leeds United transfer talks.
Leeds United will undoubtedly want to see a bidding battle sparked by Brighton’s early move, which raises the price for Summerville as much as possible.
However, whether they are willing to sell quickly or wait to see if Chelsea and Liverpool initiate their own negotiations will be heavily influenced by their own probable need to balance the books by June 30.
The significant new sponsorship contract with minority owners Red Bull will have boosted revenues at Elland Road, but failing to earn promotion has made departures unavoidable.
It would be comical if Chelsea’s massive spending at the Amex over the last two years resulted in them losing out on Summerville to Brighton, but it appears that the south coast club believes this is possible.
Summerville, 22, appears to be the Whites’ most likely departure after scoring 21 goals in all competitions this season, followed by Willy Gnonto [Yorkshire Evening Post, 14 June].
Junior Firpo and Illan Meslier have also been linked with departures [Phil Hay, 8 June], although fans will be praying that homegrown talent Archie Gray is not among them.
