Liverpool and Brighton are both stepping up efforts to complete a transfer involving a player who scores goals for fun this season, according to a report.
The recent recruitment of Brighton has made many people in the Premier League jealous.
Seagulls rarely misses the market and has built a well-deserved reputation for spotting talent.
The likes of Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo joined the club for a small fee before making a significant profit for the club a few years later.
Elsewhere, electric winger Kaoru Mitoma and hitman leader Evan Ferguson are helping to ensure there is no drop in standards at AMEX.
Brighton were able to strengthen despite selling their best players, largely due to the ability to adequately replace them with much cheaper options.
To that end, Guardian journalist Ed Aarons has revealed which promising young prospects are currently on Brighton’s radar.
However, Roberto De Zerbi’s team may not be able to manage this transfer as expected.
Brighton and Liverpool deployed reconnaissance missions
Aarons tweeted “Brighton and Liverpool have been tracking German U18 midfielder Raul Paula.“
Now 19 years old, Paula is making waves with the Stuttgart reserve team this season.
Paula – who mainly plays as an attacking midfielder but can also play on the left wing – has scored six goals in nine matches in the Regionalliga Sudwest this season.
Three of those strikes have come in Paula’s last two appearances.
In fact, Paula has been a reliable goalscorer at every level he has played at since joining the Stuttgart system in 2017.
Paula scored four goals in 14 games for the club at U17 level before improving her scoring rate when promoted to the U19 team.
Ten goals from 23 followed, with another promotion, this time to Stuttgart’s reserves, followed by a result.
Transfermarkt reports that Paula’s current contract with Stuttgart will expire in the summer of 2024.
Therefore, there appears to be an opportunity for the Vultures to raid in the coming months and Liverpool and Brighton have already embarked on their scouting missions.