Brighton join PSG and Aston Villa in race to sign Leeds striker

The Spanish forward is likely to be available for a cheap price of £3m, following the Whites relegation from the Premier League in May.

Rodrigo joined Leeds for a club record fee of £27m in the summer of 2020, having just won promotion back to the top flight for the first time in 16 years.

The 32-year-old has gone on to score 28 goals in 97 appearances for the Yorkshire side and enjoyed his best goal-scoring campaign last term, netting 15 times in 35 games.

However, Rodrigo’s goals were not enough to keep Leeds up, after they had their relegation confirmed on the final day of the season, following a 4-1 defeat to Tottenham at Elland Road.

It is widely expected Rodrigo will leave this summer, as the club look to cash in before his contract expires at the end of next season.

The summer transfer window officially opened on June 14 and Brighton have already signed three players. The Seagulls broke their transfer record fee to bring in forward Joao Pedro from Watford for £30m, whilst James Milner and Mahmoud Dahoud have been acquired on free transfers from Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund.

HAVE YOU READ THIS?

Brighton confirm third summer signing as Germany international joins from Dortmund

Fabrizio Romano confirms Brighton and Chelsea are 'very advanced' with record breaking deal

Brighton demand ‘Rice-like’ Moises Caicedo fee

Brighton now have Evan Ferguson, Danny Welbeck, Deniz Undav, Julio Enciso and new signing Pedro as their striking options, making a move for Rodrigo unlikely.

However, De Zerbi may see the quick striker as an improvement on his current options, potentially signalling that one of his current forwards may be sent out on loan or even sold in the next few weeks.