Brighton are reluctantly poised to allow Pascal Gross to join Borussia Dortmund after agreeing a deal worth an initial £5.9m (€7m) for the Germany midfielder. Gross, one of Brighton’s longest-serving players having joined in 2017 when they were promoted to the Premier League, has less than 12 months on his contract and was offered a new deal.
Despite Brighton’s appointment of his compatriot Fabian Hürzeler to replace Roberto De Zerbi as manager, Gross is believed to have been keen to return to Germany having received his first senior call-up last year and been part of the squad at Euro 2024.
The 33-year-old has also attracted interest from Eintracht Frankfurt over the past few weeks but is understood to be close to joining Dortmund, who were beaten by Real Madrid in last season’s Champions League final. They are set to pay an initial €7m (£5.9m), with bonuses potentially taking the deal up to £8m. He has made 261 appearances for Brighton and was voted as the club’s player of the season in May.
“Pascal has been a fantastic servant to this club,” said Brighton’s chief executive Paul Barber last week on their pre-season tour of Japan. “From the day we opened our account in the Premier League up until last season, he was still scoring goals, assisting goals, getting into the German national squad and getting into the squad for the Euros.
“Obviously, we’d love to keep him. We’re also mindful of the stage that he is in, in his career and the opportunity that Dortmund might provide for him.”
Brighton could also face a fight to keep Billy Gilmour with the Napoli manager, Antonio Conte, said to be keen on a move for the Scotland midfielder. An £8m bid was rejected last week, with Napoli poised to make a £10m offer for the 23-year-old.
Having spent more than £70m bringing in Mats Wieffer, Ibrahim Osman and Yankuba Minteh, Brighton have also been linked with a move for Ferdi Kadioglu. The Turkey left-back starred for his country at Euro 2024 and is expected to cost around £30m from Fenerbahce.
Saints seal £7m Brereton Díaz deal
Southampton have completed the signing of the Ben Brereton Díaz from Villarreal. The forward joined the Spanish club from Blackburn last summer and spent the second half of the season on loan at Sheffield United.
“I’m absolutely buzzing,” the Stoke-born Chile international said. “I’m really excited to meet everyone, it’s great to be involved with this great club.”
The Southampton manager, Russell Martin, said: “I’m really delighted to welcome Ben to the group. He is a strong, powerful runner and a confident finisher with a good goalscoring record, including last season’s spell in the Premier League.”
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Bournemouth, meanwhile, have signed Spain Under-21 defender Dean Huijsen from Juventus for a reported fee of €15m (£12.6m)
The 19-year-old Dutch-born centre-back has signed a six-year deal with the Cherries after spending the second half of last season on loan at Roma.
Bournemouth chief executive Neill Blake told the club’s website: “We are delighted to bring in a player of such high calibre on a long-term deal.”
Nottingham Forest have allowed midfielder Lewis O’Brien to join LAFC on loan until December, with the MLS side having an option to make the deal permanent.