Roberto De Zerbi provides Deniz Undav update amid Blackburn Rovers and Norwich City interest

The German striker had been linked with a loan move away from the south coast this month, having struggled to make an impact in his first season in the Premier League.

However, after knocking Liverpool out of the FA Cup with a 2-1 victory on Sunday (January 29), De Zerbi said the centre forward told him he wanted to stay at the club for rest of the 2022/2023 campaign.

De Zerbi said: “Undav is another fantastic guy and I spoke with him a lot recently. He told me he would like to stay with us. I think he will stay with us this season.”

Undav joined Brighton from Royale Union Saint-Gilloise for a fee of £5.2m in January 2021, being loaned back to the Belgium side for the remainder of that season.

The 26-year-old is yet to score in the league for Albion, due in no small part to the limited game time he has been given since joining the first-team squad last summer.

He has featured in all give cup games for the Seagulls, scoring in the 5-1 FA Cup win over Middlesbrough earlier this month and against Forest Green in the second round of the EFL Cup.

The German has made eight league appearances, all from the bench, finding himself behind Danny Welbeck and Evan Ferguson in De Zerbi’s centre forward pecking order.

HAVE YOU READ THIS?

Albion confirm third January signing as '£6m' star arrives

The Albion deals which could still be done before the deadline

Many would have expected the striker to be given more game time following the recent sale of Leandro Trossard to Arsenal. However, the emergence of youngster Ferguson has seen Undav remain as De Zerbi’s third-choice striking option.

The eighteen-year-old started ahead of Undav in the cup victory over Liverpool at the Amex Stadium, being brought on to replace the Irishmen in the 89th minute.

The lack of game time lead to reports of Undav searching for a six-month loan move in the January window. Championship clubs such as Blackburn Rovers and Norwich City were said to be interested in signing the Albion man.

Despite this, De Zerbi stated on Friday did not expect any more incomings or outgoings before the transfer window shut at 11pm on Tuesday (January 31).

This claim was in spite of a number of his squad players being linked with loan moves away from the club and Arsenal’s continued pursuit of Moises Caicedo.

Whatever happens in the next 24 hours, the Italian’s comments after the Liverpool victory seem to have confirmed that Undav would remain a Brighton player until the summer at least.