Brighton make 'opening bid' for international defender as selling club hold out for '€30m' transfer

That’s according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, who claims that Albion have submitted an offer of almost ‘€11m’ to Shakhtar.

The Italian has reported that the Seagulls’ initial bid falls far short of the Miners’ valuation of the 26-year-old. The Ukrainian outfit will only entertain offers of '€30m' for Matviyenko, according to Romano.

The left-sided centre-back is Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi’s top target and the Italian coach is said to be pushing for the club to sign the Ukrainian international.

Posting on Twitter, Roman said: “Understand Brighton made an opening bid for Mykola Matvienko — it’s close to €11m but it’s still far from Shakhtar Donetsk expectation. #BHAFC

“Shakhtar want €30m fee to sell the Ukrainian centre back in January.”

Matviyenko has made 131 appearances in all competitions for Shakhtar since making his first team debut in 2015.

He has won a plethora of trophies at the Miners, including two Ukrainian Premier Leagues, four Ukrainian Cups, and a Ukrainian Super Cup.

The defender, who has appeared 52 times for his country since his debut in 2017, worked under De Zerbi during the Italian’s 14-month spell at Shakhtar.

The 43-year-old took charge of the 13-time Ukrainian Premier League champions in May 2021, before departing in July 2022 due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.