Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Spanish full-back Mac Cucurella from Brighton.
He had been heavily linked with a move to Manchester City and, to try and force the move, he handed in a formal transfer request.
However, they chose not to pursue their interest further, deeming that the South Coast side’s valuation of the player was too high.
Chelsea do not appear to have any such qualms, and have now reached agreement with Brighton. He will become their third summer signing after Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly.
The former Barcelona academy only joined Brighton from Getafe a year ago, but made a big impression in his first season in the Premier League, with his rampaging runs up and down the left flank, and they will make a sizeable profit on him.
He has won one senior cap for Spain and was part of their under-23 side that won silver at the Tokyo Olympics last year.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.