Brighton really liked 29-year-old Arsenal player before making signing – journalist

Add as preferred source on Google

Journalist James McNicholas has suggested that Brighton were big admirers of Matt Turner, but a move for the Arsenal goalkeeper now appears to be off the cards.

McNicholas was speaking on his YouTube channel as the Gunners now prepare to move more players on following their scintillating start to the summer transfer window.

Matt Turner has been a decent signing for Arsenal. Of course, he arrived at a time when Aaron Ramsdale had the number one spot nailed down. But he has rarely let the team down when he has received a chance.

And Turner’s stock has risen during his time as the first-choice for the USMNT. He was excellent during the World Cup. And he has been in fine form in recent weeks.

Arsenal would surely face a dilemma if a top-flight team made a move for the 29-year-old. And McNicholas has suggested that there was indeed some serious interest from Brighton in the early stages of the window.

Brighton were monitoring Matt Turner

“One of the clubs who really liked Turner and followed him quite consistently were Brighton. To be honest, I think if Brighton are interested in a player, it always makes you think twice about selling them because they’ve got a very good eye for talent. And they know Matt Turner, they know his statistics, they know his qualities. And he was someone who they had look at as a potential number one,” he told his YouTube channel.

“However, they’ve ended up signing the young [Dutch] goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen for the best part of €20 million I think. So I think that would probably rule out Brighton as a destination for him.”

You would imagine that Mikel Arteta would have wanted Turner to stay had Brighton made their move. Ultimately, the number two goalkeeper spot is one of the hardest for clubs to fill.

They have to target someone good enough to come in if their first-choice is unavailable for any reason, but also someone who is happy with the prospect of rarely playing competitive games.

Turner clearly has a lot of love for Arsenal. And you do not get the feeling that he is going to start making things difficult for the club. However, Brighton making a move would have surely left him with plenty of food for thought.

As McNicholas notes, the Seagulls have an amazing track record. And playing under Roberto De Zerbi is going to be tempting for any player who catches their eye.

So had they offered Turner the chance to be their number one, he would have surely been making a huge mistake if he did not push for a deal.

Thankfully for Arteta, it does now appear that the chance has now gone. But clearly, Brighton wanting Turner highlights that Arsenal have a very good goalkeeper on their books.