Brighton join Fulham and West Ham in race to sign Southampton FC star
Brighton & Hove Albion have joined Fulham and West Ham United in the battle to sign soon-to-be Southampton free agent Kyle Walker-Peters.
| Kyle Walker-Peters’ Southampton career stats | |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 202 |
| Goals | 7 |
| Assists | 12 |
| Source:Â Transfermarkt | |
Interest in Walker-Peters has lingered for a while now. Pre and post their promotion to the Premier League, the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, his former club, were reportedly considering a move for the versatile defender, though nothing ever materialised.
Premier League sides are starting to line up now, however, with the 28-year-old’s wages being the only financial burden on whichever team gets his signature. A new candidate has been added to that list of interested parties.
Brighton join race to sign Kyle Walker-Peters
Brighton have been wooed by Walker-Peters, according to Sky Sports, and could mount a challenge against their top flight rivals to sign him.
Fulham and West Ham got to the Walker-Peters scene much earlier than they did, with it being reported by talkSPORT that the Hammers had already made a contract offer to the Southampton player.
Scottish full-back Max Johnston has been linked with being a replacement option for the ex-England international. It will reportedly cost £3 million to buy him from Austrian side Sturm Graz.
They are expecting to lose more than just the full-back this summer. It will be a similar story to the last time that they went down in 2023, when they earned £145 million from player sales. Club chairman Dragan Solak is targeting £100 million from trading his top English athletes – Tyler Dibling, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Aaron Ramsdale – before the start of next term.
Mateus Fernandes is also being targeted by a few Premier League sides, but, in some positive news for the Hampshire side, he has indicated that he is focused on returning to St Mary’s to help Southampton have a much better season next time out than his first one in England.
Mounting Premier League interest in Walker-Peters comes as no surprise
Every single team in the Premier League, other than the ones right at the top end of the table, should have the 28-year-old on their watchlist this summer. His positional fluidity is ridiculous compared to most players in his position, seamlessly switching from left flank to right.
He started 33 games for the Saints last season, comfortably demonstrating that he was one of the best players in a very poor side. A Premier League-level starting XI player he is, and the lack of need to pay another club a fee in order to get him makes him an even more attractive commodity.
Will Still’s old club could disrupt Southampton FC transfer plan as new update emerges
Southampton’s plans to sign Scottish right-back Max Johnston could be scuppered by their new boss Will Still’s former club: RC Lens.
The Saints were first linked with the Sturm Graz defender in mid-May by Sky Sports’ Anthony Joseph.
They, alongside European clubs Atalanta, Augssburg and Hamburg, were all said to be interested in the 21-year-old, although Augsburg haven’t kept up their pursuit as much as the other clubs, according to Joseph’s latest report.
In the 2024/25 Austrian Bundesliga campaign, Johnston registered a goal and five assists in 24 appearances.
He moved to Sturm in the summer of 2023 after coming through Motherwell’s academy system. He was released by the Scottish outfit at that time, and signed a four-year deal with his current team. They value him at £3 million.
Southampton in Max Johnston race with Will Still’s former club
Johnston would have a natural place in Still’s Southampton side considering the imminent free agent departure of Kyle Walker-Peters, who is being courted by a host of Premier League clubs.
The Saints have an even busier crowd to fight through to get to their right-back target as RC Lens, the clubs that their new 32-year-old leader was in charge of before moving to St Mary’s, are also in the race, per an update from Joseph. Another French side, Nice, are also expressed their interest in Johnston.
This isn’t the first time that the 21-year-old has received interest from the English second tier. Queens Park Rangers and Stoke City both had offers for him turned down by Sturm last summer.
In a recent interview with Sky Sports, Johnston revealed that he wants to play at the highest level one day, but he added that his current plans are to return to Austria for pre-season. “I’ve seen all the rumours and stuff, but for me, just now, I’m contracted in Austria for another two years, so I’m looking forward to going back for pre-season and we’ll see where it takes me.”
Lens’ interest in Max Johnston is no surprise
The team that Still first gained notoriety with, Stade Reims, also had a bid rejected for Johnston not too long after the young boss left them and joined Lens. The Scot is clearly a player that Southampton’s new manager has clearly had on his radar, so the possibility of the Anglo-Belgian’s ex recruiting Johnston should’ve been expected.
When managers leave clubs, all the knowledge on potential transfer targets that they picked up is taken with them to wherever they go next, and the same goes for the club if the boss earmarks certain prospects as ones to watch.
It’ll now be a battle to see if any clubs can convince Johnston to leave, and, if they can, which one it would be.
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