Brighton have turned down a big-money offer from Al-Nassr for Kaoru Mitoma, talkSPORT understands.
The Saudi Arabian giants made an offer worth £55million for the Seagulls star, but that has been knocked back.
It’s understood that Brighton have no intention of selling the winger.
The 27-year-old is under contract until the summer of 2027 having signed a new deal back on October 2023.
Mitoma joined Brighton from Japanese side Kawasaki Frontale in 2021 and spent the 2021/22 campaign on loan at Belgian outfit Union Saint-Gilloise.
Linking up with the Seagulls for the 2022/23 season, the winger racked up ten goals and eight assists for the club to establish himself as one of the Premier League’s top attacking stars.
However, Mitoma was limited to just 19 appearances last term due to injury, but has bounced back with five goals and three assists so far this season.
Brighton are currently sitting in ninth place in the Premier League, six points from sixth place.
While Al Nassr’s move for Mitoma has been knocked back, they are closing in on a big-money deal for another Premier League star.
That’s because Jhon Duran is undergoing a medical ahead of completing a £64million move from Aston Villa.
Villa reached an agreement with the Saudi giants to sell Duran for an initial of fee of €77million (£64.5m), which could rise to €90m (£75m) with potential add-ons.
Villa bought Duran in 2023 for less than £18m from MLS side Chicago Fire, where he moved from Colombian outfit Envigado in 2019.
This season, Duran has scored 12 goals across all competitions, including three times in the Champions League and seven in the English top-flight.
talkSPORT understands Duran will bank €15m (approximately £12.5m) a year – almost £250,000 per week.
But Al Nassr could be hit by another stumbling block if Brighton were to accept an offer for Mitoma.
The signing of Duran means he will fill the final foreign player quota that applies to all Saudi Pro League teams, meaning a foreign player would have to be sold in the event of Mitoma’s arrival.
But while Duran’s move appears imminent, talkSPORT host Simon Jordan isn’t impressed with the move.
“I have very little respect for this player going to Saudi, I don’t. At 21 years of age, this is not a super competitive league” Jordan said.
“This is not a world stage league, and I don’t know why a 21 year old will be going there besides one thing and one thing only, money.”
“You don’t see many paupers at top-level football. You don’t go into football thinking that ultimately you’re gonna be anything other than successful, and if you go to Saudi, it’s because you’re going for one reason and one reason only, for money.
“At 21 years of age, I think that’s a shame because he’s not going into competitive football.
“I hope that he reaps the whirlwind for that in football terms. He won’t reap the whirlwind for it economically.
“How do you develop in the substandard league? How do you get better? The way you get better in most sports is by playing with people that are better than you, because it makes you drag your standard up.
“I think personally it’s disappointing for a talented 21-year-old player that clearly people think highly of talent wise.
“There might be a question about temperament and attitude and outlook and entitlement, but you’ve got a manager that’s rotating him, playing him.
“When he gets an opportunity, he takes it, he came out the side because he’s injured, he’ll get another opportunity again and he’s going to Saudi for money.
“This player’s all about money and not about the game. This player should be playing in elite football and developing his career if he wants to be an elite footballer.
“If he wants to be an elite bank balance, fair play to him” Jordan said.
