TBR Football can exclusively confirm that Brighton & Hove Albion have missed out on Vitoria de Guimaraes right-back Alberto Costa.
The Seagulls are currently looking for Tariq Lamptey’s successor, with the 24-year-old set to be out of contract at the end of the season.
Brighton were after Costa, along with a number of other clubs on the continent, all of whom made offers for the Portuguese talent.
However, it looks as though Costa is now set to continue plying his trade in his home country.
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Brighton & Hove Albion miss out on Alberto Costa as Sporting CP move beckons
TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey understands that Brighton have missed out on Costa, despite having agreed a deal with Vitoria de Guimaraes.
Brighton came to agreement with Vitoria for the highly-rated 21-year-old, but Alberto has decided he wants to join Sporting CP.
Brighton, Roma, AC Milan and Benfica are all understood to have made offers – but Sporting have persuaded him to make the move.
Sporting move for Alberto having allowed Ivan Fresneda to join Italian outfit Como.
Brighton, for their part are happy to move on from Lamptey, and he would be allowed to leave this month.
What next for Lamptey?
Brighton will need to look elsewhere for a new right-back and, with Lamptey seemingly set to leave as early as this month, they’ll hope to tie up a replacement quickly.
Joel Veltman has been the Seagulls’ first-choice at right-back this season, while Lamptey has made 10 appearances for a total of 526 minutes this term.
January is Brighton’s last chance to get a fee for the former Chelsea man, who would leave on a free transfer at the end of the season if no new contract is agreed.
Tottenham Hotspur were linked with Lamptey back in November, so there certainly seems to be some interest in the full-back.
It remains to be seen whether more interest in Lamptey surfaces over the coming weeks and whether he will indeed end up leaving in January or end up staying put until the summer.