The right-back has starred on loan at Oldham Athletic but with Brighton securing the Spaniard for another season, will Leeds United pounce?
The South Coast Cafu is still going strong at the age of 36. Most footballers are swapping their studs for slippers when the mid-thirties hits but not Bruno Saltor.
According to the BBC, Brighton’s captain has put pen to paper on a one-year extension on his current deal at the Amex, ensuring he will remain on English shores for a sixth season after signing from Valencia in 2012.
And this represents a huge show of faith from The Seagulls. With Brighton still level on points with Newcastle United at the top of the Championship table, they are gearing up for Premier League football next season and Bruno, their evergreen right-back, has earned the right to prove his worth in the top tier after making 35 appearances in 2016/17.
Not bad for a player closer to 40 than 30.
However, while young understudy Rob Hunt will no doubt be thrilled that one of Brighton’s key men will be staying around a little longer, he must be wondering when his chance will come.
The 21-year-old was farmed out on loan to League One strugglers Oldham Athletic in January and, after helping them turn around their season and pull clear of the drop zone, HITC sources told us that he had caught the eye of Leeds United.
And Hunt has hardly given any assurances about his long-term future.
“I will just go back [to Brighton at the end of the season], work as hard as I can and see what their plan is for me,” the youngster told the Oldham Chronicle. “It’s not up to me. I signed a new contract to stay until June, 2018.
“[But] it might all depend if they go up and if they decide to bring players in.”
News that Bruno is remaining at Brighton hardly help Hunt’s first-team prospects but, on the flipside, the excellent performances of Luke Ayling and the versatility of Gaetano Berardi mean the youngster wouldn’t exactly find regular minutes easier to come by at Elland Road.
He’s only 21 after all and patience is a virtue.
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