Brighton are preparing a new offer for Lille’s Carlos Baleba after identifying the Cameroon midfielder as their primary target to replace Moisés Caicedo.
An initial bid of £14.5m plus £2.5m in bonuses was rejected earlier this week by Lille, who signed Baleba from École de Football des Brasseries du Cameroun in January 2022. The French club are believed to value the 19-year-old closer to £30m after some impressive performances in Ligue 1 under manager Paulo Fonseca.
Brighton are understood to have tracked Baleba for some time and view him as the ideal replacement for Caicedo following his British record £115m move to Chelsea. They are now expected to move quickly to conclude a deal amid reported interest from other clubs in the Premier League. Liverpool are not believed to be one of those despite reports they could be interested after missing out on Caicedo.
Brighton have already failed in an attempt to sign Mohammed Kudus from Ajax, with the Ghana forward also wanted by West Ham. They are also interested in Argentina Under-20s left-back Valentin Barco from Boca Juniors.
Chelsea, who are closing in on the signing of Michael Olise from Crystal Palace and Southampton’s Roméo Lavia, have reached verbal agreement in principle with Galatasaray for Hakim Ziyech. The deal for the Morocco forward, who has seen moves to Paris Saint-Germain and Al-Nassr collapse in recent months, remains subject to further details and medical tests.
Al-Nassr have improved their salary offer to sign Aymeric Laporte from Manchester City. It is understood that a formal proposal has yet to be submitted to the Spain defender but verbal discussions over personal terms are advancing, with City open to allowing Laporte to leave if he accepts.
Al-Hilal have reached an agreement with Sevilla to sign Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bono on £16.2m fixed fee plus add-ons. Personal terms are being discussed for a three-year deal, with the move expected to be completed after the European Super Cup game against City on Wednesday night.
Andros Townsend is also attracting interest from Saudi Arabia and MLS after leaving Everton as a free agent in June.
Nottingham Forest have submitted a formal proposal to sign Arsenal left-back Nuno Tavares on permanent deal, while Newcastle are keen on signing Lewis Hall from Chelsea. Hall has signed a new six-year deal at Chelsea but could leave on loan, with Palace having previously agreed a deal.
