Brighton have turned down a big-money offer from Al-Nassr for Kaoru Mitoma, talkSPORT understands.
The Saudi Arabian giants made an offer worth £55million for the Seagulls star, but that has been knocked back.
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It’s understood that Brighton have no intention of selling the winger.
The 27-year-old is under contract until the summer of 2027 having signed a new deal back on October 2023.
Mitoma joined Brighton from Japanese side Kawasaki Frontale in 2021 and spent the 2021/22 campaign on loan at Belgian outfit Union Saint-Gilloise.
Linking up with the Seagulls for the 2022/23 season, the winger racked up ten goals and eight assists for the club to establish himself as one of the Premier League’s top attacking stars.
However, Mitoma was limited to just 19 appearances last term due to injury, but has bounced back with five goals and three assists so far this season.
Brighton are currently sitting in ninth place in the Premier League, six points from sixth place.
While Al Nassr’s move for Mitoma has been knocked back, they are closing in on a big-money deal for another Premier League star.
That’s because Jhon Duran is undergoing a medical ahead of completing a £64million move from Aston Villa.
Villa reached an agreement with the Saudi giants to sell Duran for an initial of fee of €77million (£64.5m), which could rise to €90m (£75m) with potential add-ons.
Villa bought Duran in 2023 for less than £18m from MLS side Chicago Fire, where he moved from Colombian outfit Envigado in 2019.
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This season, Duran has scored 12 goals across all competitions, including three times in the Champions League and seven in the English top-flight.
talkSPORT understands Duran will bank €15m (approximately £12.5m) a year – almost £250,000 per week.
But Al Nassr could be hit by another stumbling block if Brighton were to accept an offer for Mitoma.
The signing of Duran means he will fill the final foreign player quota that applies to all Saudi Pro League teams, meaning a foreign player would have to be sold in the event of Mitoma’s arrival.
More to follow…
