Arsenal planning transfer swoop for Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma

Kaoru Mitoma in action against Manchester United in the FA Cup

Arsenal planning transfer swoop for Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma

Stephen Oladehinde 20:24 - 28.04.2023

Brighton star Kaoru Mitoma has been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal in the summer having had an impressive season for his team.

Most people have been drawn to Mitoma's dribbling skills, which are capable of giving opposing defenders a lot of trouble. The 25-year-old has scored seven goals and created four assists for the Seagulls.

Leandro Trossard was replaced on the left wing by the Japanese, who has been in great form since breaking into the first squad at Brighton. 

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.ug/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

Brighton CEO says Mitoma is focused on the current season

The Japan International is in the middle of a transfer tussle and the CEO of Brighton, Paul Barber, has stated that the remainder of the current season remains the primary concern for Mitoma.

Speaking during a podcast with The Beautiful Game, Paul said "Obviously he's [Mitoma] another player that will be in the spotlight in the next transfer window. We're ready for that and we understand that, we just hope he can have a great second half of the season."

Brighton are currently fighting for a chance to play European football next season as they sit eighth in the Premier League table.

Brighton looking for Mitoma’s replacement

At the moment, Mitoma still remains a Brighton player but the club are not letting down their guards as they seek a replacement in case the Japan international leaves in the summer.

Joao Pedro's transfer from Watford has already been agreed upon, according to Fabrizio Romano, in a deal worth up to £30 million. The Brazilian forward, who has only recently played in English football, is claimed to have already signed the contract. 

With the Seagulls frequently one step ahead in their recruitment strategy, the addition of Joao Pedro could open the door for Mitoma to leave in the summer.