Brighton Ready to Break Their Transfer Record for Second Time This Summer to Sign Leicester Forward

Premier League new boys Brighton and Hove Albion are ready to break their transfer record for the second time this summer for Leicester forward Tom Lawrence.

The Mirror report that the Seagulls are lining up a move for the highly rated Foxes youngster worth somewhere in the region of £8m, which would break Brighton's previous transfer record of £5.1m for goalkeeper Mathew Ryan who joined the club from Valencia. 

Lawrence came through the academy at Manchester United but never got an opportunity to impress at Old Trafford. 

This led to loan spells before Leicester signed him in January 2015. The Welshman made his Premier League debut in a fixture against Aston Villa and would make three starts at the King Power Stadium. 

Lawrence had two loan spells in 2015/16, heading to Blackburn and Cardiff but it was his loan spell at Ipswich Town in 2016/17 that really caught the eye, scoring some stunning strikes on his way to a final tally of 11 goals in 36 matches as Ipswich finished a difficult season in 16th place. Brighton are prepared to offer Lawrence the chance to prove himself once again in the Premier League. 

Chris Hughton's side are preparing for their first season in the Premier League and have already signed Ryan, right-back Josh Kerr from Celtic and Markus Suttner from FC Ingolstadt 04. 

They are hoping to get the Lawrence deal over the line before their final pre-season fixture against Atletico Madrid on 6th August. That match comes a week before their first game in the top flight since 1983, which will be at home against Manchester City.