Brighton and Hove Albion have made their first offer for Sevilla defender Juanlu, proposing a deal worth €15m for the full-back.
That’s according to Estadio Deportivo, who say that figure includes potential bonuses and is now ‘on the table’ at the Spanish club.
The Seagulls have been linked with a move for the defender over the past few weeks, with several reports indicating that they are keen on him as they look to bolster Roberto De Zerbi’s squad.
All of those reports have made it clear that the defender has a €25m release clause in his deal but Brighton weren’t keen on paying that and instead were looking at a much lower figure.
That offer is ‘on the table’ at Sevilla and being considered by director of football Victor Orta, who needs to bring in around €35m from sales in the coming months to balance the books.
Whether that means he will be tempted to accept Brighton’s offer isn’t made clear, although Vamos Mi Sevilla believe that he won’t.
They also cover the bid but say Sevilla have ‘the upper hand’ when it comes to negotiations for Juanlu because of his €25m release clause.
Thus, they’d be a little reluctant to accept €15m including bonuses at this moment in time and instead believe that they will be able to get more, perhaps ensuring any deal is €15m fixed and then ‘a few million more as a bonus’.
The ball, then, is very much in Brighton’s court as by all accounts it will only take a few extra million to get this deal over the line in the coming weeks.
