Brighton have made their first signing of the summer, with the arrival of Matthew Clarke from Portsmouth for an undisclosed fee, but it thought to be around £3.5m plus add-ons.
Clarke, 22, has agreed a four-year-deal with the Seagulls.
The centre half was an ever-present at the heart of the defence for Portsmouth making 60 appearances in all competitions, scoring five goals,
Potter on Clarke
Brighton's manager, Graham Potter had the following to say on Clarke, when speaking to brightonandhovealbion.com: “We are pleased to welcome Matt to the club. He’s an imposing central defender and had a very impressive spell with Portsmouth and as their captain has been a key player for them.
“At 22, Matt has already played a good number of games in the EFL and we are really looking forward to working with him. His challenge now is to compete with our existing centre-halves — an area where we have a lot of competition — and break into our first team.”
Clarke on the move
Clarke told the club website why he chose to move along the South Coast to Brighton: “I’m over the moon to be here, these things always take a little bit of time, but I’m delighted that it’s now been done.
“Everything here is set up for the club to keep progressing and that’s one of the main things which attracted me here. The training ground and stadium are set up to achieve good things and the Premier League is where every footballer wants to be."