"He needs to stay here" - Arsenal and Chelsea target told to remain at current club by manager

Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi has advised Seagulls star Kaoru Mitoma to stay at the club for another year amid interest from Arsenal and Chelsea.

Mitoma joined Brighton from Japanese club Kawasaki Frontale for around £2.5 million in 2021. He spent the following season in Belgium on loan at Union Saint Gilloise, the Seagulls' sister club, bagging eight goals and four assists in 29 games across competitions.

The Japan international returned to Brighton for the 2022-23 season and has since established himself as a key player. He has played 34 games in all competitions this term, scoring 10 goals and providing seven assists.

Mitoma's performances for the Seagulls have certainly not gone unnoticed among top clubs. According to Football.London, Arsenal and Chelsea have been credited with an interest in signing the attacker.

However, Brighton manager De Zerbi has told Mitoma to stay with the Seagulls for at least another season. The Italian tactician reckons doing so will stand the former Kawasaki Frontale man in good stead moving forward.

"He needs to stay here one more year, for him and for us," De Zerbi said (via Fabrizio Romano).

Although Arsenal and Chelsea have been linked with a move for Mitoma, Brighton are under no pressure to sell him as he is contracted to them until 2025.

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Brighton's chief executive rules out summer sale of Arsenal and Chelsea target Kaoru Mitoma

Brighton's chief executive Paul Barber recently acknowledged that Kaoru Mitoma will be the subject of significant transfer interest this summer. However, he maintained that the Seagulls will not be tempted to cash in on the attacker, saying:

"Obviously he's (Kaoru Mitoma) another player that will be in the spotlight in the next transfer window. We're ready for that and we understand that, we just hope he can have a great second half of the season. We're very fortunate from a financial point of view that we're not a club that has to sell players to survive."

Brighton, though, could sell midfield duo Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo ahead of the 2023-24 season. The latter was notably the subject of bids from Arsenal and Chelsea in January. The London giants could rekindle their interest in the Ecuador international this summer.

Mac Allister, meanwhile, has attracted interest from several clubs after helping Argentina win the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The Gunners and the Blues are reportedly also interested in signing him.