'We tried to bring him in' - Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi reveals failed bid for Chelsea superstar Cole Palmer ahead of Blues clash

The Brighton boss was open about the fact that his club saw an opportunity to land an emerging talent when Palmer was stuck on the fringes at Manchester City. But Chelsea later secured a deal instead and have reaped the rewards with 24 goals.

Although Palmer never actually made it to Brighton, Chelsea do have a reputation for pinching both players and staff from the Seagulls. Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella and Robert Sanchez have made the switch from the south coast to west London in the last couple of years for a combined £202 million ($254m). Manager Graham Potter endured an ill-fated spell at Stamford Bridge after being poached from Brighton, while co-sporting director Laurence Winstanley was also lured across. As of the last few days, Sam Jewell has completed a period of gardening leave at Brighton and is now starting work as Chelsea’s director of global recruitment.

Speaking at a press conference the day before Brighton host Chelsea in the Premier League, De Zerbi said: "We tried to bring him in the transfer market last summer. We thought he could be a top player. The qualities of Palmer are clear for everybody, but not when he played for Manchester City. This season he is playing very well, he is scoring a lot of goals."

The clubs face each other at the Amex Stadium on Wednesday night in their penultimate fixture of the Premier League campaign. For an in-form Chelsea, there is a chance to climb into sixth place and a potential Europa League qualifying place if Newcastle fail to beat Manchester United at the same time. Meanwhile, victory for 10th place Brighton is crucial to maintain hopes of securing a third successive top half finish in their best ever spell.