On July 24th, SportBild stated Brighton & Hove Albion are very interested in 1. FSV Mainz 05’s Brajan Gruda, who is an ‘absolute dream’ target for Fabian Hürzeler.
Brighton have made further progress to sign the 20-year-old this summer, according to Sky Deutschland journalist Florian Plettenberg.
He took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to claim the attacking midfielder is ‘very close’ to joining Brighton with ‘immediate effect’.
Earlier claims explained that Bayer Leverkusen have shown interest in the player. The journalist says Hürzeler has now managed to convince him to make a switch to The Amex.
According to Plettenberg, the Premier League side have reached an agreement with Mainz 05 for a deal worth around €30m, without specifying whether it includes or excludes bonuses.
The Germany U21 international’s move to Brighton ‘should be finalised soon’. Plettenberg further adds the player ‘was already on site’, indicating that Gruda has already made a trip to England, most likely to carry out the transfer formalities.
Gruda is a product of Mainz 05’s youth system and was promoted to their senior team in January 2023. He managed four goals and three assists from 29 games last season.
