With no space for a starting spot at Brighton & Hove Albion under Graham Potter, Leo Skiri Østigard was sent on loan to Genoa for the second half of the season.
He’s excelled there, catching the eye with his performances in Italy, which has led to speculation he could move to a bigger club.
His current situation at Brighton is that his contract with the Seagulls reportedly expires in the summer, meaning a renewal would need to take place for the Premier League side to get any money.
This means the Norway international can technically talk to anyone on a free, and Corriere dello Sport state Napoli are taking an interest.
However, it appears that there could be some sort of understanding with Brighton here, because the newspaper hint that Cristiano Giuntoli, their director of football, might need to use his relationship with the Seagulls to get a deal done.
They state the Serie A side will be looking for a centare-back that is ‘young, physical, reassuring and possibly already introduced in the Italian league’, meaning ‘in short, Leo Skiri Østigard, a Norwegian whom Genoa got on loan from Brighton, a club with which Giuntoli has consolidated relationships’.
This suggests a small advantage for Napoli over any competition for the player, but also could mean that some sort of fee would need to be arranged.
Therefore, it isn’t too wild to assume that a renewal could be in the offing, just so that Brighton can earn a bit of money for a player who has never made a professional appearance for them.
