A senior Chelsea scout was spotted making extensive notes about a player during the Man United defeat to Brighton, sources have told Football Insider.
Longstanding Blues talent spotter James Bell-Walker was at Old Trafford on Saturday (16 September) for the Premier League clash, won 3-1 by Brighton.
It is believed the transfer mission was undertaken to check out one of the starting players.
Danny Welbeck opened the scoring for the visitors, with Pascal Gross and Joao Pedro compounding the misery for Man United in the second half.
Substitute Hannibal Mejbri scored a stunning consolation for Erik ten Hag’s side in the 73rd minute.
Brighton moved into fifth with the victory on 12 points, while Man United slumped to a lowly 13th with just six points.
Chelsea have also struggled at the start of the 2023-24 campaign, despite spending a reported £400million in the summer window.
The Blues have an established recent history of signing the best talent at Brighton in recent years.
They signed Marc Cucurella last summer (2022) and followed that deal by adding Moises Caicedo and Robert Sanchez in the off-season.
Chelsea also appointed ex-Seagulls boss Graham Potter last year, but he was sacked earlier this year after struggling to make an impression at Stamford Bridge.
The London outfit also poached several key recruitment figures from the Sussex club, who enjoyed their most successful season of all time in the 2022-23 campaign.
Chelsea have not signed a player from Man United in the last ten years.
Like the Red Devils, the Blues have struggled under Mauricio Pochettino at the start of the 2023-24 campaign – picking up just five points from a possible 15.
Brighton: Daniel Farke romance Barca for Ansu Fati to end Loan spell with Leeds United
Leeds United manager, Daniel Farke is allegedly plotting second loan spell for Barcelona loaned player to Brighton, Ansu Fati.
The young star is currently on loan at Brighton. The Barcelona player sealed a transfer deadline moved to the English Premier League club after it appear the young star is not included in Xavi Hernandez team for the season.
The Barcelona accepted Brighton approach for the young star to continue is developmental games and match fitness that would prepare him ahead of 2024 Laliga season.
However, insider reveals that Leeds United manager Daniel Farke is plotting to seal a loan deal for the player in all efforts for Leeds United to return to the English Premier League.
The young star is touted as strong player that could help return Leeds United to the top flight of English football.
Barcelona regards Ansu Fati as the future of the club and may declined all efforts to loan him again in the next calendar of football.
24-years-old Nottingham player heads to Leeds United
Leeds United have reportedly made a move to sign Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis O’Brien.
According to Alan Nixon, the Whites would take O’Brien either on a permanent deal or season-long-loan as he looks to leave the City Ground before the end of the window.
It is said a fee of around £10 million would be enough to tempt Forest into selling this summer, but an initial loan with an option-to-buy upon promotion is also on the cards.
O’Brien is a player who has long been linked with a move to Leeds after interest from Marcelo Bielsa in 2021, which ultimately led to nothing.
However, with O’Brien expected to leave Forest this summer it could be the perfect opportunity for Leeds to pounce and finally bring him to Elland Road.
Leeds now want to sign O’Brien who Corberan thinks is ‘very special’
Leeds were keen on signing O’Brien the summer after Carlos Corberan left his role as Bielsa’s assistant to become manager at Huddersfield Town.
The Whites’ failure to do a deal meant they worked together for two full seasons, in which they were 90 minutes from helping Town secure promotion to the Premier League in the second campaign.
O’Brien was a vital part of Corberan’s success at Huddersfield and speaking in December 2021 on the midfielder, the Spaniard hailed him as a ‘very special’ player.
He told the Yorkshire Post: “From the last game, he was not happy with his performance. And I like to say that when a player is not happy with his performance, they show the reaction that they showed (on Saturday). Maybe in the first half the other day, we did not see the normal level of O’Brien as he always has the habit of playing the level of the game he did (on Saturday).
“He is one player who is very special in the team and is one player who deserves everything he has achieved in football as he makes everything to achieve everything( in football).”
O’Brien would be an excellent signing for Leeds at this level and at 24, he still has plenty of time to develop, too.
Midfield reinforcements are high on Leeds’ list of priorities before the end of the window and there aren’t many better around than O’Brien that would be prepared to drop into the Championship.