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Brighton chief executive Paul Barber says the club has not been contacted about Alexis Mac Allister, Moises Caicedo or any of their other top players heading into the January transfer window.
Attacking midfielder Mac Allister enjoyed a strong first half of the season for Brighton, before then going on to play a big role in Argentina’s World Cup triumph.
The 24-year-old’s continued form has caught the attention of Juventus and Atletico Madrid, despite the signing of a new contract in October, while Caicedo was wanted by Manchester United while he was still playing in his native Ecuador and has also been linked with Liverpool, Chelsea and Real Madrid.
Mac Allister’s father and agent recently appeared to suggest that he has been fielding enquiries from clubs, although he didn’t name who. At the same time, however, he asserted that his son is happy with Brighton and is grateful for the chances he has had.
90min understands that Brighton want a fee in excess of £50m.
“We have not offered anyone to anyone and have no plans to,” Barber told The Argus. “In an ideal world our squad, which is as good as it has been for a long time, will remain intact through the whole of January and we will go into the second half of the season as we are.
“The next 30-odd days is unpredictable and we will deal with whatever comes in. But we are not offering anyone to anyone.”
Regarding potential approaches, he added, “No – and we don’t want any. We are quite happy as we are, certainly for as long as we can be. But we are also realistic.”
Barber acknowledged the likelihood of interest in Mac Allister, Caicedo and also goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, but called it ‘normal’ and actually welcomed it because of what it means about the standard of players now at the Amex Stadium.
“We can’t be surprised when there is interest and at some point we have to accept that these players will go on to play at an even higher level than ours,” he explained.
