Brighton & Hove Albion are set to battle it out with German giants Bayern Munich for a young player who has been described as an “elite talent”, according to a new report.
Brighton latest news
After a worrying run of no wins in eight Premier League games, Brighton are now back to winning ways having taken six points from their last two matches. The Seagulls first beat struggling Ipswich Town 2-0 at Portman Road, before they then thumped Manchester United 3-1 at the weekend.
Yankuba Minteh, Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter were all on the scoresheet in a comprehensive win for Fabian Hurzeler’s side, which the German manager described as “a good game for us”.
“After the first goal we got a bit passive but after they scored we dominated and controlled the game,” he said after the match. “We deserved to win. We changed some small margins at half-time which made us stronger and of course we had some great individual quality on the pitch. It’s all about how intense you press and stay in your structure and we did that well.”
On his side finally turning draws into wins again, Hurlezer said: “In the Premier League every game is competitive and unpredictable.
“You have to work for the momentum you make and in the last two games and in the FA Cup game we’ve had that belief. If you can outwork an opponent then you can outplay them and I’m happy that we’ve been able to do that in the recent games.”
Brighton to battle Bayern for Diomande
Despite being ninth in the Premier League table, Hurzeler still reportedly wants to add some new players to his squad in the January transfer window. According to Tipsbladet, per Sports Witness, one of those is Sporting CP defender Ousmane Diomande.
The 21-year-old centre-back has been a regular for Sporting since joining them from Danish side FC Midtjylland in 2023, making 80 appearances and scoring four goals.
Tipsbladet claim that Brighton are set to battle none other than Bayern Munich for the signature of the Ivory Coast international, with both clubs having already made contact with Sporting about a potential move.
The Portuguese club, however, are insisting that Diomande’s £68 million release clause must be activated if he’s to leave the Estádio José Alvalade this month.
Diomande, who was signed by Sporting while the now Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim was in charge, has previously been described by football talent scout Jacek Kulig as an “elite talent”.
“You rarely see a player with such high ball-playing and pure defender skills,” Kulig wrote on X of Diomande. “There are some tactical improvements but I’m quite sure this kid will play for the best teams in the world.”
The defender’s former Ivory Coast boss Jean-Louis Gasset has also heaped similar praise on him, saying, according to the Express: “He’s one of the 25 best under-19 central defenders in the world and he does everything well. He plays in Portugal, he’s going to play in top leagues, he’s going to play in the Champions League or the Europa League.”
