‘A flat no’ – Brighton acted swiftly to block club’s advances for Seagulls player, Hurzeler key

FC Copenhagen wanted to sign Brighton & Hove Albion’s Yasin Ayari in the last window.

That’s according to FotbollDirekt, who explain why the Danish club failed to secure the 20-year-old’s services.

Brighton took the midfielder from Swedish side AIK Fotboll in January 2023 after Roberto De Zerbi had left him out of his plans at The Amex. The Seagulls let him go out on loan to Coventry City and Blackburn Rovers last season.

The English club appointed Fabian Hurzeler as De Zerbi’s successor in the summer, and the website claims the current Brighton manager refused to let the Sweden international leave.

Last month, Ayari revealed he managed to convince Hurzeler after impressing during pre-season.

Copenhagen made an approach to find out the possibilities to acquiring his signature in the summer. They even tried to sign the midfielder, but the report claims they were met with ‘a flat no’ from the English club’s leaders.

Ayari has made five appearances in the league and two more in the EFL Cup this season. The report adds the Danish club had also failed to sign the Brighton player’s brother, Taha, who is currently at AIK.