Brighton ace to leave as 'mystery transfer' gets the 'here we go' treatment from Fabrizio Romano

The ongoing saga of Billy Gilmour’s exit from Brighton appears to be nearing a conclusion.

Napoli have been chasing the Scotland international midfielder throughout the transfer window and appear to have finally reached a £15m agreement with the Seagulls.

The Italians started the bidding at £8m earlier this window but the two clubs now appear to have settled on a figure for the 23-year-old, who joined Brighton for around £6m in 2022.

Gilmour remains a popular figure at Brighton. He performed well in the 2-1 win against Manchester United last Saturday and at Everton, when he was introduced as a second half substitute, and the fans chanted “we want you to stay.”

Head coach Fabian Hurzeler said he wants Gilmour to remain at the club and even Albion chief executive and deputy chairman Paul Barber said Gilmour “is a great character” and that the club “want him to stay.”

The transfer is all a bit of mystery and it almost fell through last week when Albion’s £25m summer signing Matt O’Riley suffered a serious ankle injury on debut against Crawley Town in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.

However, it seems as though Napoli’s persistence has paid off and the former Chelsea man is now set for the Serie A.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano posted: “Billy Gilmour to Napoli, here we go! After improved bid today and player asking to leave, green light arrives from Brighton.

“Napoli improved proposal initial €13m and Billy only wanted to join them as made specific request to club. Verbal agreement in place.”