Ipswich Town facing European competition for Brighton & Hove Albion transfer | OneFootball

Ipswich are looking at a Premier League option to address their issues in the centre of the park.

Ipswich Town are interested in signing Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Malick Yalcouye, but face competition from German clubs who have already made offers for the teenager.

A worrying chunk of Kieran McKenna's central midfielders have left the club this summer.

Massimo Luongo has been training with their Championship rivals Millwall. Sam Morsy is jetting off to the Middle East for the next part of his career. Both Jens Cajuste and Kalvin Phillips are no longer on the club's books following the expiration of their respective loan spells at Portman Road.

All of this has left Ipswich with a major need to add more depth to this position before the start of next season. They're often quite a forward-thinking club when it comes to recruitment, and Town are reported to be looking at a player that comes from a club with a similar philosophy.

Ipswich Town eye move for young Brighton midfielder Malick Yalcouye

Yalcouye, Brighton's 19-year-old Ivorian midfielder, is someone that journalist Charlie Parker-Turner has reported to be a player of interest to the Tractor Boys. He was signed by the Seagulls last summer from Swedish outfit IFK Goteborg for a suspected £6 million.

The teenager then spent last term on loan with Sturm Graz, for whom he played X games in the Austrian first division, the country's domestic cup and in the Champions League.

He was utilised by Sturm in more of an advanced role, either playing as one of two attacking midfielders, or playing on the flanks. But his playing days in Sweden, where he was used as part of a midfield-three in a 4-4-2 formation, certainly show that he'd be able to slot into McKenna's system, should they land Yalcouye this summer.

Two offers have already been put to Brighton by teams from the Bundesliga, as per Parker-Turner. Hoffenheim and Freiburg have both asked to take the Ivorian on loan. While the Seagulls reportedly consider their options, Ipswich are yet to make any offer to their former top flight rivals for the 19-year-old.

Brighton target is a move that comes with risk for Ipswich Town

A signing of this nature wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary for the Tractor Boys. Someone like Cajuste had no experience in this country but ultimately proved to be a success once he came over to East Anglia. Ipswich have made attempts to bring him back to England from Napoli, but no progress on that front has been reported.

While Cajuste would be a sure-fire signing for them to make, especially for a Championship side, Yalcouye is a lot more unproven. He has only played once for Brighton and that was in a Football League Trophy match versus Crawley Town.

His experience abroad, especially in the Champions League, is something to be encouraged by, plus the Seagulls' notorious ability to spot talent where nobody else can.

A lot has to go right for Ipswich to have a chance of doing a deal for Yalcouye, and for it to end successfully.