If reports are to believed, newly promoted side Brighton & Hove Albion have just had a record bid worth €16m (£14.8m) rejected for La Liga side Deportivo La Coruña striker Florin Andone. The Seagulls would need one more quality addition up front and Andone has been quite prolific over the past one season in the Spanish league.
News emerging that Brighton & Hove have a record £15m bid for Florin Andone from Deportivo La Coruna rejected. Another bid likely. #bhafc
— The 4th Official (@Official_T4O) August 30, 2017
While the Spanish side has been quite unwilling to let one of their star striker leave their summer, their pursuit of Arsenal striker Lucas Perez, if successful, could see Andone move to Brighton in the next few hours. And with Brighton coming back with a slightly better offer could really tempt them.
Brighton haven’t been the only admirer of the Romanian international as we have seen yet another Premier League side, Burnley, making an offer of around £12 million for him. The Clarets were eyeing to replace the then outgoing striker Andre Gray, who have now joined Watford. Failure in Andone’s pursuit saw Leeds United Chris Wood arrive at Turf Moor.
However, it is to be noted that the main reason for rejecting Burnley was stated to Deportivo manager Pepe Mel who considers Florian Andone a key member of the team. Getting Andone solely depends on Arsenal’s asking price of Lucas Perez, which should be around £17 million, the amount with which the Gunners had bought Perez last summer.
And if Brighton & Hove manage to facilitate that, chances of Andone arriving are ripe. Andone’s talent in front of the goal remains undeniable and Brighton are unlikely to regret splashing the cash for him. Coming from La Liga2 side Cordoba during the 2015-2016 campaign last summer at the back of 21 goals in 36 appearances, he proved his worth at the top level too. He took no time to adapt to the top flight as he netted 12 goals in 37 La Liga appearance arriving with the huge responsibility of filling the gap left by Lucas Perez’s departure.
At 182cms, Andone more or less has the physical traits to cope with the English style of playing and given the kind of players the Seagulls have at the moment, he could enter the first team easily. However, his defensive attributes remain a concern as the player has shown weakness in man marking and tackling.
But at 23, Andone still has a lot of room for improvement ahead of him and Premier League could be the best destination ahead of a World Cup year.
