Brighton make Billy Gilmour transfer call as Napoli pay the price for ‘ridiculous’ tackle.
Napoli have been pushing to sign Brighton midfielder Billy Gilmour in recent weeks.
Billy Gilmour’s move to Napoli is believed to be off, Express Sport understands.
Brighton have decided to pull out of talks with the Serie A outfit due to their injury concerns in midfield.A deal was never in place for the midfielder, and a recent injury sustained by new signing Matt O’Riley in midweek has prompted Brighton to have a change of heart in regards to the sale of the 23-year-old.
O’Riley, who arrived from Celtic earlier this week, made his debut for the Seagulls on Tuesday in their 4-0 victory over Crawley Town in the second round of the Carabao Cup.
O’Riley has now undergone scans on the issue, but Brighton do not want to leave manager Fabian Hurzeler short of options in midfield and have called talks with Napoli for Gilmour off.
Asked about the challenge after the victory, he said: “Ridiculous foul. It has nothing to do with football, we have to be honest. This situation changed the game a little bit because afterwards, it got very emotional during this game but I hope it’s not so bad.”
Hurzeler has remained unbeaten since leaving St Pauli for Brighton over the summer, though it is unclear how long it will be until he can name his new No. 25 in his starting 11 again. The German continued: “It doesn’t look good, to be honest.
“I just talked to him when he went off the pitch and he couldn’t put any weight on his ankle, so let’s see. We have to scan it, we have to control it and then we’ll see what it is.”
