Andy Naylor of The Athletic is reporting that Serie A club Salernitana have submitted a bid for Brighton and Hove Albion top-scorer Neal Maupay. It is believed that the offer is worth around £15 million.
The 25-year-old who signed from Brentford three years ago for £14 million has just one year left on his current contract. Despite being the Seagulls top-scorer for the past three seasons, it is expected that January signing Deniz Undav will be first choice for the upcoming campaign.
Salernitana Make Offer for Brighton and Hove Albion Top-Scorer Neal Maupay
Exclusive, Brighton receive £15m offer from Italy for Neal Maupay. #BHAFC https://t.co/v8ynp1PSTY
— Andy Naylor (@AndyNaylorBHAFC) July 22, 2022
Salernitana Looking for Improved Serie A Performance
I Granata (The Garnets) returned to Serie A last season for the first time in 23 seasons. Despite surviving relegation, it proved to be a difficult campaign. They sacked their manager just two months into the new season; however, for the majority of the time, the club struggled in Italy’s top flight.
When all looked lost with relegation edging closer, Salernitana produced a great escape. 18 points from their remaining 15 games were enough to survive despite finishing with the lowest points of any team to survive in Serie A history.
The club appear to want to avoid a repeat performance by adding Brighton and Hove Albion top-scorer Maupay to their new-look team. Should the striker sign for the reported £15 million it would more than double their current transfer fee record of £6.3 million to bring defender Matteo Lovato to the club.
Maupay Could Be Pushed Down Pecking Order at Brighton if He Stays
Neal Maupay has been Brighton’s top-scorer for the past three seasons; however, he could be pushed down the pecking order should he stay at the club. German striker Denis Undav who was signed in January but was immediately loaned back to Union Saint-Gilloise has scored an impressive 115 goals in 231 games so far in his career. According to the report in The Athletic, it is believed that Undav is set to be first choice next season.
Undav scored his first goal for Brighton in a recent friendly against Estoril and Maupay has been quick to praise Albion’s pre-season and their new players. Speaking to brightonandhovealbion.com, he said: “This week has been really good in terms of work and team spirit. We had time to spend together to get to know the new players and it’s been great.
“We’ve got a strong squad, we know we’ve got some new players and we’re looking forward to playing with them. We’ve trained hard this week and got to know each other better.
“Deniz and Kaoru got their first goals. Everyone worked hard and everyone had time today on the pitch, it was a positive game at the end of a positive week.”
