Brighton Set to Beat Porto to Signing of Ligue 1 Starlet Following Breakout Season
By Tom Gott
Brighton and Hove Albion are set to secure the signing of Yves Bissouma from Ligue 1 side Lille, beating Portuguese giants Porto to his signature.
Portuguese outlet Record have claimed that Porto had been interested in Bissouma, but were not prepared to match Brighton's offer for the Malian, believed to be around £18m.
The Portuguese club were only prepared to pay around half of that amount, meaning they have been forced to accept defeat in their chase for Bissouma.
Bissouma left Mali to join Lille in 2016 and was quickly accelerated to the first team. Since his arrival, he has made 55 appearances for the French club, scoring four goals and assisting a further two. He has also made 13 appearances for the Mali national team, scoring three goals.
Bissouma is an incredibly versatile 21-year-old who is most comfortable in the heart of the midfield, but he has often been deployed as a winger or a defender.
Brighton enjoyed a reasonably positive Premier League campaign last season, finishing in 15th place. They were amongst the favourites to face relegation, but managed to defy expectations and survive for at least one more year in England's top tier.
Manager Chris Hughton deserves a lot of credit for orchestrating his team, but the star of Brighton's Premier League campaign was undoubtedly Pascal Groß. The German arrived from FC Ingolstadt to minimal fanfare, but miraculously managed seven goals and eight assists in the Premier League.
Groß proved to be an incredible piece of business for Brighton, and it now appears as though they have identified Bissouma as the man to be able to follow in his footsteps and make an immediate impact in the Premier League.