Dan Ashworth has suggested that Brighton & Hove Albion will not put up much of a fight for any of their players linked with big moves, provided that it’s the right one for the individual in question, not to mention the club.
Midfield man Yves Bissouma has been heavily linked with an exit this summer, with Liverpool one of several elite Premier League outfits reportedly keeping track.
“We’re also realistic and if one of the top clubs comes in, it’s a brilliant move for the player and it’s financially right for us, then no problem,” the technical director told The Athletic. “If the players are being courted by the top clubs, then that means Graham and the staff are doing something right because we are identifying and developing players that are able to play at the very top level.”
Possessing similar traits to PSG-bound Gini Wijnaldum, the Malian would be a potentially cheap option for Jurgen Klopp’s men to exploit.
Considering that our ex-No.5 missed less than 6% of our total league fixtures through injury since first making the switch from Newcastle in 2016, we’d be taking a huge risk not replacing that level of durability in the middle of the park.
The fact remains (though we’d prefer it to be otherwise) that we will lose midfielders to injury this coming season.
Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain continue to suffer in that department, with all of our starting midfield options likewise succumbing to spells on the sidelines in the 2020/21 campaign.
Realistically, we at the EOTK would have still urged Liverpool to bolster their options beyond Wijnaldum, even if the Dutchman had agreed an extension at Anfield, though we’d expect a new face this summer to be an absolute minimum to plug the considerable gap.