Brighton manager Chris Hughton has confirmed that the club wants to sign Liverpool defender Joe Gomez in the summer transfer window, according to the Argus.

“We’ve registered our interest but he’s not our player. It will be up to Liverpool. I’d like to think we are very much in the running.”

The youngster came through the ranks at Charlton before moving to Liverpool in the summer of 2015 for around £3.5 million. He is one of the several youngsters signed by Liverpool with a view of transforming them into the next English star at the club. Yet, the lack of first-team opportunities have prevented Gomez from making a major impact in the Liverpool setup, and it seems that the club are willing to cut their losses by sending him out on a permanent basis.

Last season, Gomez only featured in 3 FA Cup games with most of his 11 appearances coming in the reserve Premier League matches. At 20 years of age, he still has a lot of time left in the game and Liverpool also seem to have plenty of faith in the player.

After securing promotion to the top flight, Brighton are expected to go on a spending spree so as to make the squad ready for the tough 2017-18 Premier League campaign. After having reasonable experience in the top flight during his time at the likes of Norwich, Chris Hughton knows that the club need to make significant additions, but might not have the transfer budget to make extravagant signings.

Further, there is also a possibility of being relegated straight away. So far, the club have been taking each step in a careful manner with the likes of Matthew Ryan and Pascal Groß having arrived at the club.

While the expenditure on Gomez may not be significant – at least in Premier League terms, it would represent a valuable addition to the squad considering the clear potential of the 20-year-old. Gomez has only been unable to make an impact due to the lack of first-team opportunities and injuries. The player may also welcome a switch to Brighton, where he may get regular first-team football even in the Premier League.

Gomez has a contract with Liverpool until the summer of June 2022.