Brighton face £40m decision ahead of Aston Villa amid Yves Bissouma form dilemma

Graham Potter and Brighton face an intriguing decision ahead of Saturday's Premier League fixture against Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa at the Amex Stadium
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This Saturday Brighton will welcome the club who wanted to sign their star midfielder Yves Bissouma during the January transfer window.

Aston Villa were determined to land the Mali international last month and submitted a bid of around £25m.

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The offer was rejected by Albion but Villa boss Steven Gerrard hinted he and his club will return for Bissouma this summer.

Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma is wanted by Aston Villa manager Steven GerrardBrighton midfielder Yves Bissouma is wanted by Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard
Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma is wanted by Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard

"It was well documented that we put in a bid for Bissouma at Brighton which was turned away, and we respected and appreciated," Gerrard said.

"If a move is not right then we will not become desperate and make a decisions that we do not think is right.

"If it’s not right at the time we might have to be patient in a few situations.”

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By then the 25-year-old will have just 12 months remaining on his contract and Brighton will have to decide whether to cash in on one of their prize assets or allow his contract to run down.

Villa were the only team who made a firm bid for the former Lille player who joined Brighton in 2018 for £15m - but he has many admirers who operate at a higher level than Villa.

Bissouma has also attracted interest from Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle and even Real Madrid and many feel a move to Villa could be a sideways step for a player Albion head coach Graham Potter says can easily play at Champions League level.

Villa are ambitious however and despite poor recent results hindering their chances of European qualification, they remain keen to kick-start the Gerrard the era off in style.

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Last month they brought in Philippe Coutinho on loan from Barcelona and also signed left back Lucas Digne from Everton.

In Jacob Ramsey they have one of the brightest young midfielder talents in English football, while John McGinn remains an established and perhaps one of the more under-rated midfielders in the top flight.

Gerrard would love to add to the power and guile of Bissouma to that mix and appears to have the budget and wage structure to prise away Albion's best player.

Brighton however are in no rush to sell. In the last two windows they have sold Ben White for £50m to Arsenal and Dan Burn to Newcastle for £13m.

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Tony Bloom and the club will only sell when the deal is right for the club and for the player.

"We've had lots of speculation over various windows and he's still here with us," Potter said recently.

"But the club and him face a point where you've got a decision to make - if there is Champions League interest, as a club how do you compete with that?

"How do you compete financially? and how can you stop the player taking that opportunity up? It's very difficult.

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"It not only hampers the relationship you have with the player and it's a challenge for that but it also damages your whole structure, we are clearly not a Champions League structured team.

"It's quite complex, but we are quite relaxed about it there is no pressure, no stress, no problem, we are enjoying Yves being with us."

The recent form of Bissouma has been a talking point with the fans of late. He returned from Afcon duty with Mali and was immediately back in action for Brighton during their FA Cup defeat at Tottenham.

He scored Albion's consolation and was the best player on the pitch that day but his last two Premier League displays have been below the high standards he has set himself and what many at the club expect.

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He looked off the pace during the second half of Brighton's 2-0 loss at Manchester United and then looked a shadow of his usual self in the 3-0 home defeat against Burnley.

Fans are questioning if he has returned fatigued after his Afcon trip, or if the club rejecting Aston Villa's January bid has triggered a loss of form.

Either way, Bissouma will have the chance to answer those questions on Saturday when he faces the club that wanted him so badly last month.

Bissouma at his best against Villa this Saturday will not only help Brighton recover from their loss to Burnley, it could also intensify Gerrard's desire to land him.

Bids this summer however may have start around the £40m mark.