Graham Potter is losing no sleep at Brighton despite reports linking Premier League starlet Tariq Lamptey with a big-money move to Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur, speaking to The Star.
Of course, Potter is no stranger to speculation.
The Brighton boss spent much of last summer addressing paper talk after all, batting away rumours suggesting that the likes of Yves Bissouma could be on their way out of The Amex.
This week, it was Lamptey’s turn to climb aboard the transfer merry-go-round.
According to The Express, Antonio Conte is in the market for a new wing-back at Tottenham Hotspur with Lamptey, a former Chelsea youngster, emerging as the leading candidate.
Emerson Royal’s anaemic performance in Wednesday’s 2-0 EFL Cup semi-final defeat at Stamford Bridge, you suspect, would have done little to change Conte’s mind.
Not that Potter is counting down the minutes until the transfer window closes, mind you.
Who would Tariq Lamptey choose; Arsenal or Tottenham?
“I’d expect all of our players to be with us (at the end of the window),” says Potter, who was actually linked with the Spurs job before Conte.
“There’s a lot of speculation out there but nothing to report. The fact that there is speculation out there means you are doing something quite well. And as a club you can be OK with that type of speculation.
“You never know what the window brings in terms of whether anything comes from the outside, which you have to factor in.
“We’re not a selling club at all, we don’t have to sell anybody. But you never know in this world, so you have to be a little bit aware of that.”
Tottenham’s north London neighbours Arsenal have also been linked with Lamptey, via Duncan Castles of the Transfer Window Podcast.
The swashbuckling Lamptey would certainly represent a more adventurous alternative to the Takehiro ‘steady Eddie’ Tomiyasu.
Arsenal, of course, have already raided Brighton once this season, investing £50 million in centre-back Ben White.
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