Brighton & Hove Albion agreed a transfer with Legia Warsaw for signing Michał Karbownik.
The Seagulls offered a four-year contract to the highly rated fullback and then allowed him to return to Legia Warsaw for the remainder of this season on a loan deal.
Prior to joining the Premier League club, Parma and Napoli were also linked with the 19-year-old.
Earlier reports coming out of Italy explained the Naples club tracked the Poland U19 international for a long time, and international intermediary George Gardi has given an interview to TuttoMercatoWeb, where he has revealed the young defender had an agreement with Gennaro Gattuso’s side before signing for Brighton.
“A full-back who can play on both sides, ambidextrous, born in 2001, one like this is a rarity. There was a total agreement with an Italian club: everything was defined in March, then the lack of exits in his role blocked the operation,” the intermediary said.
“In the last few days the player has chosen among the other proposals received, and the possibility of playing in the Premier League has made a difference.”
Journalist Ciro Venerato reported the English club were successful in overtaking Napoli by offering a better deal.
“Napoli had called him in early August asking Legia Warsaw to wait until 20 September. The club had hoped to sell Ghoulam before that date, but Brighton have overtaken Napoli’s competition,” Venerato explained.
“The English club offered the player three times what Giuntoli offered, €1.5m versus €500,000.”
However, Gardi has dismissed this suggestion and he stressed. “Speaking of this operation, I would like to thank the seriousness of my Polish partner who for six months has kept his word to the Italian company. A real rarity in this environment. If the player ultimately made a different choice, it wasn’t for economic reasons.”
