Brighton & Hove Albion are working on a late move to sign defensive midfielder Chema Andres from Stuttgart.
The deal is not yet done but talks are advancing ahead of the 11pm BST transfer deadline.
The 21-year-old joined the Bundesliga club from Real Madrid for €5million ($5.8m; £4.4m) last summer. As part of that deal, Madrid retained a right of first refusal and a 50 per cent sell-on clause.
Chema has made 26 appearances in the German top flight since making the move, registering three goals and an assist.
The Spaniard also made nine appearances last season in Stuttgart’s run to the last 16 of the Europa League.
The attempted swoop for Chema coincides with Mats Wieffer sustaining an injury in Sunday’s 4-3 defeat at Chelsea. The Dutchman joined as a defensive midfielder from Feyenoord in 2024, but he was converted into a right-back last season by head coach Fabian Hurzeler. Wieffer is a candidate to resume his former role following Carlos Baleba’s recent move to Manchester United.
The No 6 position has been the remaining question mark at the conclusion of a busy summer transfer window for Brighton. Hurzeler normally operates with two players in central midfield. His first choice pairing without Baleba is Pascal Gross and Yasin Ayari, who is out of contract next summer.
Swedish international Ayari missed the Chelsea defeat with an ankle injury. Hurzeler used centre-back Olivier Boscagli as the No 6 behind Gross and Malick Yalcouye, who scored and impressed on his full Premier League debut.
Chema compared to Rodri – but the player himself doesn’t see it
Analysis by Real Madrid correspondent Mario Cortegana
Chema is one of the many talents to have emerged from Real Madrid’s academy in recent years, having left in the summer of 2025 after making his debut that January and going on to play three games with the first team.
For Brighton fans who may not have followed him during his formative years at the Valdebebas training ground or his first season at the top level with Stuttgart, there is one clear — yet risky — comparison: Barcelona’s Rodri, in terms of his footballing style and his personality.
“Those comparisons come from you guys (journalists),” Chema said to The Athletic in an interview in April. “They’re more about our physical profile because he’s still miles ahead. Hopefully, one day I can reach his level. They don’t affect me at all.
“It would be an honour to speak to him and tell him how much I admire him. From what I’ve read, he’s an exceptional person.
“I see myself as cheerful, humble, and someone who gets on well with everyone. I don’t like footballer stereotypes. Some people like that sort of thing, and that’s fine, but I’m more low-key.”
Chema came through La Fabrica, Real Madrid’s youth academy, under the guidance of now-Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso, current Fulham head coach Alvaro Arbeloa — who pushed him hard when he was going through a rough patch and achieved a strong reaction from him — and Raul, who always believed in his potential.
He has been a regular in the Spanish national team’s youth ranks, having limited room to reach the senior team given the presence of players such as Rodri and Arsenal’s Martin Zubimendi. But many at the Spanish Federation (RFEF) headquarters have long seen him as a player with the potential to make the leap from the Under-21s in the medium term.
