Brighton and Hove Albion have agreed terms with Borussia Dortmund for Pascal Gross though the Premier League outfit are set to sign his replacement with Diego Gomez arriving for £14 million.
- Exclusive from Graeme Bailey
HITC understands that, after months of speculation suggesting that a modern day Seagulls legend could be on his way out of The Amex, the long-serving Pascal Gross is finally set to secure his return to the German Bundesliga.
Pascal Gross, one of the best pound-for-pound signings in recent Premier League history, will become a new Dortmund player seven years after Brighton plucked him from FC Ingolstadt for a bargain £3 million.
Terms have now been agreed between the two clubs.
Fabian Hurzeler – Roberto de Zerbi’s replacement in the Brighton dugout – had hoped to retain Gross’ services. The late-blooming 33-year-old was even offered a new deal on the South Coast.
But Brighton have now accepted defeat. Dortmund have an £8 million deal in place – Gross departing for a cut-price fee with his current contract expiring in 2025 – with a medical now set to get underway in the near future.
Pascal Gross to leave Brighton for Borussia Dortmund
“I had some talks with Pascal, of course,” former St Pauli boss Hurzeler had told The Argus at the start of July. “He is a very important player.
“I expressed, I think, my biggest appreciation I have for him and let’s see what the future brings.”
Gross’ ‘future’, however, now appears to lie at a Dortmund side desperate to get their hands on silverware after narrowly missing out on both the Bundesliga title in 2023 and Champions League glory in 2024.
Die Schwarzgelben lost 2-0 to Real Madrid at Wembley two months ago.
Brighton, meanwhile, are set to sign Gross’ potential replacement though Diego Gomez will arrive in England with big boots to fill.
Sources close to the Amex outfit have confirmed to HITC that a deal worth around £14 million has been agreed with MLS outfit Inter Miami.
21-year-old Gomez will undergo a medical of his own in the coming days after crossing the Atlantic.
Diego Gomez arriving from Inter Miami in the MLS
Capped seven times by the Paraguayan national term, Gomez is very much a ‘project’ signing at 12 years Gross’ junior. He is a footballer of considerable potential, however, having produced eight goals or assists in just 16 games for Inter Miami at the start of the current campaign.
Gomez, who has benefitted from the presence of Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Lionel Messi in the Inter dressing room, has already confirmed his desire to join fellow Paraguayan Julio Enciso at Brighton.
“My agent is speaking to Inter Miami and Brighton and Hove Albion,” Gomez said recently, via Goal. “I came here to make the jump to Europe. I hope it happens and whatever God wants.”
Inter’s former Barcelona coach Tata Martino, meanwhile, is not surprised by the admiration coming Gomez’s way from England.
“It is more than just interest from Brighton in Diego,” Martino says via Inter Miami News. “And, sooner or later, this was going to happen. In a year and a half with us, he has demonstrated his quality.
“We’d love to keep him until the end of the year, but we don’t know when he will go. I think that particular Premier League club (Brighton) would be a good place for him.”
HITC understands that Brighton have also turned down a club-record £25 million bid from Stuttgart for Denis Undav. An £8 million offer has been rejected from Napoli, meanwhile, for Billy Gilmour.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
