Transfer News: Brighton make £6 million bid for Chelsea defender Tariq Lamptey

Chelsea are reportedly at the risk of losing young defender Tariq Lamptey on the transfer deadline day with Brighton making a £6 million offer.

As per a report from The Athletic, Chelsea youngster Tariq Lamptey is the subject of interest from fellow Premier League outfit Brighton & Hove Albion, with the Seagulls coming in with a late £6 million bid for the right-back.

The Seagulls manager Graham Potter is keen on recruiting a right-sided full-back before the transfer window closes to add competition for the current first-choice Martin Montoya.

Ezequiel Schelotto hasn’t featured regularly this term since returning from a serious knee injury, forcing the manager to use Steven Alzate as a makeshift right-back at times. And having missed out on Tottenham’s Kyle Walker-Peters, who has joined Southampton on loan, they have made Chelsea starlet Lamptey their target now.

A product of the Chelsea youth academy, Lamptey broke into the first-team in the ongoing campaign, making his debut as a substitute against Arsenal in December 2019. The 19-year-old has since featured on two more occasions for Frank Lampard’s side, making a decent impression each time he has taken the field.

However, Lamptey’s future has been a subject of speculation for some time now, with the young right-back in the final six months of his contract with Chelsea. There has been a new contract offer put on the table by the Chelsea, but the 19-year-old is pondering over his situation given that the pathway to the first-team is currently blocked, with Reece James and Cesar Azpilicueta ahead of him.

This has led to a number of clubs considering the possibility of signing the England U-20 international, with French outfit Lille understood to have been in touch over a pre-contract agreement. However, Brighton have now swooped in with a last-ditch offer for Lamptey, believed to be in the region of £6 million.

Apart from his three appearances for the Chelsea first-team, Lamptey has also featured on 19 occasions for the Blues’ youth teams across all competitions this season, producing a return of three goals and three assists in the process. With Brighton making a formal approach, it remains to be seen if Chelsea hold on to the 19-year-old or decide to cash in on him.