Chelsea, Tottenham on ‘high alert’ as costly De Zerbi decision sets wheels in motion for £30m Brighton exit

A recent Roberto de Zerbi decision should help either Chelsea or Tottenham sign a Brighton player, with Graham Potter eyeing another reunion at Stamford Bridge.

Brighton have done exceptionally well this season, winning 12 of their 25 Premier League matches so far. They sit in seventh spot and look bound to qualify for the Europa League, while there is also a slim chance of a top four spot.

Senior Brighton officials will be delighted to see the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Kaoru Mitoma and Moises Caicedo performing so well. The only trouble for the club is that several bids will arrive for their best players in the summer transfer window.

Mitoma has been linked with Premier League title contenders Arsenal and Manchester City. Although, transfer insider Graeme Bailey has told TEAMtalk that Brighton are preparing a club-record contract offer to try and keep the winger on the south coast.

Mac Allister looks more likely to depart the Amex. Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham are the main clubs battling for the World Cup-winning midfielder’s services.

Caicedo was a prime target for Arsenal in January, while Chelsea also submitted offers for him. Neither London club managed to reach an agreement, but another bidding war could start later this year.

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Mitoma, Mac Allister and Caicedo are not the only Brighton stars who might secure big transfers, with goalkeeper Robert Sanchez also one to keen an eye out for.

Sanchez was De Zerbi’s number one from August until the start of March. But recently he has been dropped and replaced with fellow keeper Jason Steele. De Zerbi wants to see an improvement in Sanchez’s style of play before he returns to the starting eleven.

Chelsea, Tottenham alerted to Brighton opportunity

According to Football Insider, this change in keeper could prove costly for Brighton. Sanchez being dropped has put Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United on ‘high alert’ as the trio of major clubs want to sign him.

Chelsea in particular could push hard to sign the 25-year-old due to Potter having a good relationship with him from their time together at Brighton.

transfermarkt put Sanchez’s valuation at around the £30million mark. It remains to be seen whether Chelsea can land him for this amount or if Brighton will pull off another strong negotiating tactic, as they have done with Caicedo and Ben White in the past.

Potter’s current keeper is Kepa Arrizabalaga, and he has done very well this season. However, Potter still wants another top keeper to arrive in west London and take Edouard Mendy’s place in the squad. Sanchez is high up on his list of potential recruitments.

The Spaniard, who is a compatriot of Arrizabalaga’s, would not be the first Brighton star to join Chelsea. Potter has already reunited with Marc Cucurella at Stamford Bridge.

While Chelsea are in a good position to snare Sanchez, they are not the only team preparing to enter talks as Spurs and Man Utd also like the look of him.

Spurs need a successor for 36-year-old Hugo Lloris, while Erik ten Hag wants to replace David de Gea as the long-term Man Utd servant is not quite good enough with the ball at his feet.

Sanchez could complete a big turnaround in the next few months, going from losing his place at Brighton to starting for a club like Chelsea, Spurs or Man Utd.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are in contention to sign a big-name Manchester City player, according to one source.