Sky Bet Championship side Brighton are set to pull off a transfer coup by beating off competition from the Premier League and Europe by signing Feyenoord winger Elvis Manu.
The Seagulls have made a great start to their season, sitting in second place after four games and only behind leaders Ipswich, who they play at Portman Road tomorrow, on goal difference.
Seagulls beat off prestigious opposition
And Chris Hughton’s squad is set to be boosted by the signing of Manu who scored 12 goals in 31 games for the Dutch giants last season, beating off competition from Watford, Sporting Lisbon and Bayer Leverkusen.
The Guardian reported yesterday that both Brighton and the Hornets had £1.5m bids for the winger accepted by Feyenoord, but Algemeen Dagblad’s Feyenoord correspondent Mikos Gouka tweeted today that Manu was going to Brighton.
After the return of club legend Dirk Kuyt and the signing of Werder Bremen winger Eljero Elia during the summer, Manu found opportunities harder to come by at De Kuip, with head coach Giovanni Van Bronckhorst allowing the 22-year-old to leave.
Manu has been left out of the squad to face Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven on Sunday, but won’t be signed in time to join his new teammates before the international break.
Busy summer at the Amex
The Dutch winger will be one of several reinforcements to Brighton’s front line, after the signings of Jamie Murphy, Bobby Zamora, Tomer Hemed and Jack Harper.
The Seagulls have also signed centre back Uwe Hünemeier from Paderborn for almost £2m, as well as full-backs Liam Rosenior and Gaetan Bong, both on free transfers to add more depth to a squad that struggled against the drop last season, suffering without the goals of Leonardo Ulloa.
The Gulls have scored five goals so far this season, conceding twice on the road to Huddersfield and Fulham respectively, meaning that Brighton have yet to concede at home so far this season.