Brighton defender on cusp of surprise £3m exit to Serie A giants

Brighton and Hove Albion’s Norwegian international defender Leo Ostigard looks all set sign for Italian club Napoli.

The Serie A outfit are said to be in advanced talks with Brighton and a deal close to £3m is about to be sealed.

Ositigard, 22, joined Brighton from Norwegian club Molde in 2018 but the centre back found it hard to break through to the first team at the Amex Stadium as he faced stiff competition from Lewis Dunk, Shane Duffy, Joel Veltman, Adam Webster – and previously Ben White and Dan Burn.

The Norwegian international had loans at FC St Pauli, Championship outfit Coventry City, Stoke City and Genoa.

Ostigard made 15 appearances for Genoa in Serie A last term and his performances towards the end of the campaign for the struggling team impressed the management at Napoli.

Luciano Spalletti's Napoli team finished third in Serie A last term, seven points behind last season's title winners Milan and nine points ahead of fourth placed Juventus.

Football transfer journalist, Fabrizio Romano, posted on Twitter: “Napoli are in advanced talks to sign Leo Östigard as new centre-back.

"€3m bid in place, Brighton want more but Napoli are confident to complete the agreement in the next days.”

Former Barcelona, Everton and Watford man Gerard Deulofeu is also part of Napoli's list for this summer.

Last week Brighton confirmed their experienced midfielder Pascal Gross has agreed a two-year contract extension.