Brighton ready to pinch defender starlet from under the noses of Wolves and West Ham

Graham Potter manager of Brighton & Hove Albion gives his team instructions Newcastle

Brighton are set to make a £275,000 offer for Kilmarnock central defender Charlie McArthur in the hope of striking a deal before West Ham United and Wolves.

McArthur is just 16 but has already broken into the Killie first team and is catching the eye. Premier League scouts have been checking out the central defender and bids are expected to go in soon. Indeed reports claim the Seagulls will steal a march on their rivals by making the first move.

Brighton have been keeping a close eye on him. Scouts also checked McArthur out when he played for the Scotland under-17s last week.

According to reports north of the border Seagulls technical director David Weir has now sanctioned the move. With Wolves and West Ham also sniffing around Brighton hope to get the deal done quickly.

Brighton face competition

There is also a good chance that other Premier League clubs could enter the running. At the back end of 2021 both Manchester City and Liverpool were also linked.

City scouts watched him in action but they stopped short of making a bid. It now remains to be seen whether they will come back in, but Brighton are keen to move quickly.

Brighton want Ben Brereton Diaz

Brighton want Ben Brereton Diaz

Brighton are interested in Blackburn's Ben Brereton Diaz.

They are hoping £275,000 will be enough to tempt Kilmarnock in to selling. Derek McInnes’ side currently top the Scottish Championship and are closing in on a return to the top flight.

Killie are four points ahead of Arbroath and there is still work to be done. McArthur will have a key role to play in the promotion push between now and the end of the season. And if he continues to shine Killie could bump up the valuation in the summer.

Brighton are also willing to throw in plenty of add-ons to get the deal over the line. Extra cash will head the way of Killie as soon as McArthur breaks in to the first-team.

Star of the future

It is no surprise that there is so much interest in McArthur. Former Killie boss Tommy Wright was glowing in his praise of the youngster.

Wright handed him is debut and was in no doubt that the youngster would move on to better things.

“He’s a dream to work with,” Wright told reporters at the time. “I don’t want to stick labels on how good he is but he’s very, very good and will have a great career.”

Meanwhile McArthur is not the only youngster Brighton are tracking in Scotland. Rangers starlet Rory Wilson is also a target, but reports claim Aston Villa are leading the race there.

READ MORE: Brighton chief looking at positives despite recording £53.4m losses