Last week, Brighton formally announced interest in Celtic midfielder Matt O'Riley. But now a new social media post from transfer guru Fabrizio Romano suggests the English Premier League outfit may have changed direction.
O'Riley has been the centre of speculation for the last several weeks, with everyone from Atalanta to Juventus, Chelsea, Liverpool and more supposedly interested in luring the 23-year-old away from Parkhead.
Brendan Rodgers has remained adamant the club do not need to sell O'Riley.
But when it emerged Brighton were reportedly ready to break the Scottish transfer record (which stands at £25million, a fee stumped up by Arsenal for Kieran Tierney in 2019; and by Al-Ittihad for Jota in 2023), a move at that stage felt feasible.
As now reported by Romano, however, Brighton appear set to sign midfielder Brajan Gruda from German side Mainz for the same fee of £25million.
🚨🔵 Brajan Gruda to Brighton, here we go! Deal in place for German midfielder to leave Mainz and join #BHAFC project.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 13, 2024
£25m fee verbally agreed and long term deal for Gruda, set to sign soon as Hürzeler wanted him.
As revealed weeks ago, Gruda was dream target for Brighton. pic.twitter.com/owrOBG9W7e
Read more:
- Why Celtic's Paulo Bernardo wants to replace Matt O'Riley
- The key role Teun Koopmeiners could play in Matt O'Riley transfer saga
Of course, Brighton signing Gruda doesn't rule out their interest in O'Riley entirely – but the significant outlay in the same region as the Celtic player's worth, plus the fact Gruda also plays in midfield, could mean the EPL side has now changed tack.
Between times, Atalanta have now had several bids for O'Riley rejected by Celtic.
The Italian side have reportedly failed to meet the Scottish champions' asking price for their prized midfielder.
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