Brighton are preparing an offer for Boca Juniors youngster Leonel Flores, almost two months after the Seagulls first appeared in the Argentine claims around the 19-year-old.
Quite a lot has happened since then. Flores has established himself as a Boca starter, more English clubs have been thrown into the mix and he’s now received a call-up from Lionel Scaloni to the Argentina squad.
Now Brighton are back in the picture. El Intransigente says the Seagulls are preparing an offer for the winger, although there’s an important detail here: nothing formal has reached Boca yet.
The report describes the operation as being at an early stage.
From No. 9 to starting winger
Brighton were linked with Flores back in July, when he was only starting to make a name for himself in Boca’s first team. Since then, City Football Group, Aston Villa and Tottenham have all been credited with interest at different points.
The Brighton claims have now returned with something a little more substantial. El Intransigente says the Premier League side are preparing a proposal after following Flores’ performances for Boca. And he’s certainly given them plenty more to look at.
Flores spent much of his time in Boca’s academy playing as a No. 9. That helps explain the 19 goals he scored in 51 appearances for their reserves. But his role has changed since making the jump to senior football.
Manager Rodolfo Arruabarrena has mainly used him wide on the right, where Flores has established himself as a starting winger. He can also play from the left when required.
Flores has gone from promising academy striker to first-team winger in a very short space of time.
Delivering when Boca need him
He’s now starting to add decisive contributions to those performances. The teenager has two goals and three assists from his first 16 senior appearances. Two of those assists have come in Boca’s last couple of matches, and both mattered a lot.
Flores set up the equaliser away at São Paulo in the second leg of the Copa Sudamericana quarter-finals. Boca went on to progress from a huge continental tie.
He then provided another assist in the 2-0 away win over San Lorenzo in the Argentine league, helping Boca move closer to the leaders in the Clausura.
So the numbers are beginning to come along with the performances. And then came another pretty big step.
Lionel Scaloni has just called Flores up to train with Argentina’s senior squad. He’ll spend time at the national team’s training base while remaining available to Boca for their upcoming matches.
So that’s quite a jump from where he was when Brighton’s name first appeared in July.
New claim on release clause
There’s also a new detail about what it might cost Brighton to get him out of Boca. Previous reporting from Brazil had put Flores’ release clause at around €13m (£11.3m).
El Intransigente now gives a different figure. They say his contract, which runs until December 2029, contains a clause worth around €17m (£14.8m). That reportedly rises to around €21m (£18.3m) if triggered while the Argentine transfer window is closed.
So there’s clearly some disagreement over the exact number. What hasn’t changed is Boca’s desire to keep him.
They want the 19-year-old to continue developing under Arruabarrena and aren’t pushing for a sale. Brighton, meanwhile, appear to have gone the other way.
When this story started in July, they were simply said to be watching Flores. Two months and an Argentina call-up later, the latest claim is that they’re getting an offer ready.
There’s nothing on Boca’s table yet, but that’s at least a step forward from where this all started.
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— Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) September 20, 2026
