Brighton join Fulham and West Ham in race to sign Southampton FC star | OneFootball

The Seagulls want to keep the defender on the south coast.

Brighton & Hove Albion have joined Fulham and West Ham United in the battle to sign soon-to-be Southampton free agent Kyle Walker-Peters.

Of all the players that the Saints may lose this summer, their star full-back is the only one that they won't be well compensated for.

Walker-Peters will be able to pick which club he wants to join when his contract expires at the end of this month, ending a five-year run with Southampton that earned him his first England cap back in 2022.

Interest in Walker-Peters has lingered for a while now. Pre and post their promotion to the Premier League, the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, his former club, were reportedly considering a move for the versatile defender, though nothing ever materialised.

Premier League sides are starting to line up now, however, with the 28-year-old's wages being the only financial burden on whichever team gets his signature. A new candidate has been added to that list of interested parties.

Brighton join race to sign Kyle Walker-Peters

Brighton have been wooed by Walker-Peters, according to Sky Sports, and could mount a challenge against their top flight rivals to sign him.

Fulham and West Ham got to the Walker-Peters scene much earlier than they did, with it being reported by talkSPORT that the Hammers had already made a contract offer to the Southampton player.

Scottish full-back Max Johnston has been linked with being a replacement option for the ex-England international. It will reportedly cost £3 million to buy him from Austrian side Sturm Graz.

They are expecting to lose more than just the full-back this summer. It will be a similar story to the last time that they went down in 2023, when they earned £145 million from player sales. Club chairman Dragan Solak is targeting £100 million from trading his top English athletes - Tyler Dibling, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Aaron Ramsdale - before the start of next term.

Mateus Fernandes is also being targeted by a few Premier League sides, but, in some positive news for the Hampshire side, he has indicated that he is focused on returning to St Mary's to help Southampton have a much better season next time out than his first one in England.

Mounting Premier League interest in Walker-Peters comes as no surprise

Every single team in the Premier League, other than the ones right at the top end of the table, should have the 28-year-old on their watchlist this summer. His positional fluidity is ridiculous compared to most players in his position, seamlessly switching from left flank to right.