Brighton lead Newcastle and Real Madrid in race for Watford player | OneFootball

Brighton and Hove Albion are currently leading the race for Watford youngster Yaser Asprilla, according to Last Word on Football.

The Seagulls' recruitment in recent years has allowed them to become a team that has secured European football - an achievement that would have been beyond their wildest dreams just five or six years ago.

Some of their recruitment of South Americans has been key, with Pervis Estupinan proving to be a real asset after joining last year and Moises Caicedo looking set to make a £110m move to Liverpool.

Julio Enciso is also a promising player and it wouldn't be a shock to see Argentinian Facundo Buonanotte develop into a real star at the Amex Stadium as well.

They have added another two South Americans to their squad this summer, with Igor Julio arriving from Serie A outfit Fiorentina and Joao Pedro coming in from Watford, with the latter impressing at Vicarage Road at such a young age and attracting plenty of interest even before this summer.

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Colombian Asprilla isn't just the subject of interest from the Seagulls - an attractive destination for the youngster considering how well Roberto De Zerbi has done since succeeding Graham Potter on the south coast.

Portuguese side Porto are also interested in him and this wouldn't be the first time the Portuguese side have looked to the EFL market, with the club previously luring Reading's Danny Loader away from the Select Car Leasing Stadium on a free transfer.

Loader has been a success there and this could persuade them to sign Asprilla, with the club already making an approach to recruit him.

in the 19-year-old, with the Magpies also believed to have made an approach.

report as an interested club.

Although he's likely to win more first-team football at Vicarage Road than any of these interested sides because of the fact the Hornets are in the Championship, it wouldn't be a surprise if a move to a bigger club actually works out for the teenager.

He did make a respectable 37 league appearances last season - but he has been on the bench so far this term and this is a reason why he may be open to a potential switch.

Ideally, he would be starting every week but if he secures a move to a bigger club, he could then be loaned out to another side where he's almost guaranteed to be one of the first names on the teamsheet.

He could potentially like the fact he's settled in Hertfordshire and hasn't needed to go elsewhere on loan but at 19, he should be open to the possibility of loan deals before becoming a key player at a parent club.

This is why he needs to keep his options open - but he could potentially utilise this interest to try and pressure Valerien Ismael into giving him more game time. If he's starting regularly at Vicarage Road, it may make him want to stay put.