Details revealed as Sheffield Wednesday said to be battling Sheffield United for £6m Brighton midfielder
Sheffield Wednesday are interested in the signing of starlet Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Malick Yalcouyé, The Star understands.
The Mali-born midfielder has played only 14 senior games in European football, making his debut for Swedish top tier side IFK Göteborg in January of this year, but is seen as a prodigious talent with Brighton having reportedly paid £6m to sign him last month. As reported by The Daily Star, The Star understands Wednesday are among the front-runners for a season-long loan deal. The same Daily Star report claims Brighton are ready to let him out on loan and that Sheffield United and Luton Town share Wednesday’s interest.
The Star can reveal that Wednesday have been tracking exciting prospect Yalcouyé for some time and sources have suggested contact over his potential loan signing from Brighton was in action even before his signing from IFK Göteborg was fully complete. The Owls will hope their style of play - which Röhl mentioned in an earlier interview was partly modelled on Brighton’s in-possession methods - and their early expression of interest can swing the chase their way.
Standing at a diminutive five-foot-seven, Yalcouyé is an energetic central midfielder who operates most comfortably as a number six. Wednesday boss Danny Röhl is known to be looking to strengthen his options in midfield after the additions of Svante Ingelsson and Nathaniel Chalobah and is believed to have the 18-year-old, who turns 19 in November, towards the top of a list of possible options.
Brighton have developed a strong reputation for signing talented, unknown youngsters from foreign leagues before moving them on at a steep profit after a period of development. The Owls have an existing relationship with the Premier League club having taken on goalkeeper James Beadle this summer for a second time after the success of his loan move in January.
That poses no issue in terms of the rules - clubs can loan up to four players from any one club over the course of a season, of which only two can be over the age of 23. Should a deal come off, Yalcouyé may well take up the last remaining ESC slot in the Wednesday squad.
Speaking over the weekend, Röhl said on transfers: “Next week when the Premier League starts there is also something in the market, the good thing is that we have a good, good group now together and now it is about finding the right stones for our house. If we do this we will have done a really good job.”