Brighton & Hove Albion announced the signing of left-back Maxim De Cuyper from Club Brugge, and it could benefit Manchester United in their pursuit of a summer target.Brighton & Hove Albion have announced the signing of left-back Maxim De Cuyper from Club Brugge.The 24-year-old moves to the Amex Stadium for a deal believed to be worth a total of €20m (£17.3m), subject to the satisfactory completion of all necessary regulatory processes.De Cuyper has put pen to paper on a five-year contract until June 2030 and becomes Brighton’s sixth signing of the summer after Charalampos Kostoulas, Olivier Boscagli, Diego Coppola, Tom Watson and Yoon Do-young.“Maxim is a creative left-back who has great experience at Champions League level as well as in the domestic league,” Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler told the club’s official website.“He has a great reputation for creativity and has shown his ability across different positions, although we primarily see him challenging for a left-back spot with us.“Maxim arrives having won the league and cup in recent years with Brugge, so it’s great that despite his young age, he clearly has a winner’s mentality. We’re excited to work with him.”Welcome to the Albion, Maxim! ?? pic.twitter.com/8NZXAW41V9— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) July 5, 2025 Belgium international De Cuyper completes move to BrightonBorn in the Belgian province of West Flanders, De Cuyper came through the youth ranks with Club Brugge, and made his professional debut in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United in a Europa League knockout round playoff in 2020.Following a successful two-year loan spell with KVC Westerlo between 2021 and 2023 – in which they were promoted to the Belgian top flight – De Cuyper was re-integrated into Brugge’s senior side and established himself as a first-team regular.The 10-cap Belgium international primarily operated as an attack-minded left-back with Brugge, but he is also comfortable playing as a right-back.Cuyper leaves Brugge having recorded nine goals and 22 assists in 114 appearances across all competitions, contributing with four goals and seven assists in 54 matches last season.Could De Cuyper’s arrival at Brighton lead to Estupinan joining Man Utd?Th arrival of De Cuyper at Brighton comes following confirmation of Valentin Barco’s permanent move Strasbourg, while fellow left-back Pervis Estupinan has expressed his desire to seek pastures new this summer.“The truth is there have been three years in Brighton with a lot of learning,” Ecuador international Estupinan recently told South American reporters. “But this will be a transfer market with a lot of movement. The club know that I would like to grow, that I would like to keep growing.”The club have understood this. I’ve spoken to the club. The club have given me this bit of freedom to be able to make a decision. Now we will try to see better what is on the table and to see where we can go.”Estupinan, who has two years remaining on his contract at the Amex Stadium, has been a first-team regular for the Seagulls since joining from Villarreal in August 2022, featuring 104 times across all tournaments.The 27-year-old, who played 30 times in the Premier League last season, has allegedly attracted interest from Man United, who are said to have identified him as someone who could provide competition for Patrick Dorgu at left wing-back in Ruben Amorim’s side.However, it remains to be seen whether the Red Devils will pursue a move for £30m-rated Estupinan, or any other left-sided player this summer, following the arrival of teenage talent Diego Leon from Cerro Porteno.ID:576839:1false2false3false: from db desktop :LenBod:collect5823:

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