Brighton are battling with RB Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Lazio for the €15 million signing of Galatasaray winger Baris Alper Yilmaz.
The 24-year-old Turkish international has impressed at Galatasaray and appears to have the potential to play in a more competitive league.
Yilmaz will have options this summer, and sources with a close understanding of his situation have informed CaughtOffside that Brighton are weighing up making an opening offer in the region of €13-15m for the player.
Brighton have sent scouts to watch Yilmaz at Euro 2024, CaughtOffside understands, with the Seagulls’ new manager Fabian Hurzeler said to have specifically requested reports on him.
Yilmaz, however, is not a player Galatasaray are too keen to sell, and it is understood that offers in the region of €15m will not be enough.
It may be that the Turkish giants push for closer to €25m, though it will be interesting to see if some kind of compromise can be struck after negotiations.
Brighton would surely be a tempting project for Yilmaz after the fine work they’ve done to improve players in recent years.
Many star names at Brighton were not well know when they first arrived, but they flourished under previous managers like Graham Potter and Roberto de Zerbi, so Hurzeler will no doubt hope he can achieve something similar with a talent like Yilmaz.
Playing in the Premier League will undoubtedly be appealing to an up-and-coming player like this, as it is perhaps the greatest stage of all and can help you attract international attention, giving you more of a household name than a move to Germany or Italy.
Still, Leipzig has done tremendous work with their player development in recent seasons, so it may be considered as another good alternative for Yilmaz at this juncture of his career.