Brighton uses Football Manager to confirm signing of Chelsea and Manchester City target

Brighton & Hove Albion recently announced the signing of Argentinian defender Valentin Barco, who was also reportedly on Manchester City and Chelsea's radar this January.

The Seagulls have signed Valentin Barco from Argentine Primera Division side Boca Juniors for a reported transfer fee of £7.86 million. The Argentinian defender has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract, which will expire in June 2028. To announce the signing of the 19-year-old, the Seagulls used a video clip from the online game Football Manager.

As per The Athletic, Manchester City & Chelsea were also monitoring the defender for a potential move.

Valentin Barco won't be joining the Seagulls immediately though, as he's currently with the Argentina Under-23s at the CONMEBOL Olympic qualification tournament.

The Argentina Under-23s team will play five games between January 22 to February 3. After the matches, he is likely to join Brighton for the remaining campaign of the 2023-24 season.

Barco has made 35 senior appearances for Boca Juniors, where he has recorded a goal and four assists.

After the signing, Brighton's technical director David Weir heaped praise on the young Argentinian defender's skills. He also said that he's excited to watch Valentin Barco's progress under Roberto De Zerbi, saying: (via The Athletic):

“We have been aware of Valentin for a long time and have been impressed with the progress he has made at domestic and international level. We’re delighted to welcome him to the club, and we are looking forward to seeing how he progresses and develops under Roberto."

Next up, the Seagulls will host Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Amex Stadium in the Premier League on Monday, January 22.

---

West Ham United are looking forward to signing Manchester City midfielder: Report

West Ham United are reportedly looking forward to signing English midfielder Kalvin Phillips in the ongoing January transfer window. According to a few recent reports, the England international is keen to leave the Etihad outfit because of a lack of game time.

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City signed Kalvin Phillips from Leeds United for a reported transfer fee of £45 million in July 2022. Since then, the Englishman has made 31 appearances for Manchester City, scoring only a single goal. This season, he has made only 10 appearances across different competitions.

According to BBC Sport, David Moyes' West Ham United are interested in signing Kalvin Phillips and City are also willing to sell the Englishman. Apart from West Ham United, the likes of Newcastle United and Juventus were also interested in signing the Manchester City midfielder. However, no agreement or advanced talks were made by any of the two teams.