Brighton’s move for Costinha is starting to gather momentum in Portugal, but fresh reports suggest Brentford are also keeping a close eye on the Olympiacos defender as Premier League interest in the Portuguese right-back grows.
After British reports revealed Brighton were in talks to sign the 26-year-old, Portuguese newspaper A Bola has now confirmed the negotiations independently and added another English club to the picture.
According to the Portuguese outlet, Brentford are attentive to Costinha’s situation and monitoring developments around the player, even if Brighton still appear to be leading the race at this stage.
Champions League exposure helping Costinha
Costinha’s European campaign seems to have played a major role in attracting Premier League attention.
The defender featured regularly for Olympiacos in the Champions League and even scored against Bayer Leverkusen during the competition.
Portuguese reports also highlight that he has already amassed 74 appearances for Olympiacos since arriving from Rio Ave in 2024.
That level of experience may explain why both Brentford and Brighton are comfortable targeting a player slightly older than their usual recruitment profile.
Both sides could be preparing for European football themselves next season, and Costinha looks like a player viewed as ready for immediate involvement.
Rio Ave waiting for major windfall
One of the biggest winners from the deal could actually be Rio Ave. The Portuguese club sold Costinha to Olympiacos for €2.5m (£2.1m) two years ago, but crucially retained 30% of a future sale.
With the current negotiations reportedly hovering around €13m (£11m), Rio Ave stand to receive close to €4m (£3.4m) from the operation without needing to negotiate directly with Brentford or Brighton themselves.
That detail has become a major talking point in Portugal, where the transfer is increasingly being viewed as another example of smaller Liga Portugal clubs profiting heavily from Premier League spending power.
