Liverpool, Man City surprisingly rejected, with Brighton better placed to seal £12.5m January signing

Brighton could pip Liverpool and Manchester City to the signing of a rising young midfielder, and why the bigger clubs will be overlooked has come to light.

Brighton have proven themselves expert navigators of the transfer market in recent years, with the club making gigantic profits on the likes of Robert Sanchez, Marc Cucurella, Moises Caicedo, Yves Bissouma and Alexis Mac Allister, to name just five.

Aiding Brighton’s cause in that regard is their attractiveness to young players. The Seagulls have shown time and again they are an excellent club for developing stars to refine their game.

According to a fresh update from BILD chief Christian Falk, Brighton’s unique appeal could help them get the better of Man City and Liverpool in the transfer market.

Taking to X, Falk revealed all three clubs are interested in 17-year-old Red Star Belgrade midfielder, Andrija Maksimovic. But per the reporter, the player and his camp are wary of joining Liverpool or Man City through fear those moves could be too big of a step to take at this stage in Maksimovic’s career.

As such, Brighton are now better placed to secure a deal expected to be worth roughly €15m (£12.5m /$16.2m) in total. Rather than Liverpool or City, Brighton’s biggest competitor will be Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt.

Falk wrote: “Eintracht Frankfurt lead at the moment the race for a transfer of Andrija Maksimovic. The fee could be €12m plus €3m adds-on.

“In the opinion of the Maksimovic-side, Liverpool and Manchester City could be a too big step for the next station. But Brighton is also an option.”

“One of the next big jewels in football”

Maksimovic has already racked up two caps for the Serbian national side and has started two of Red Star’s three Champions League matches this season (vs Inter Milan and Monaco).