Tottenham agree £25m deal with Brighton for midfielder

Yves Bissouma to undergo Tottenham medical on Thursday after £25m deal agreed with Brighton; midfielder has one year left on his Brighton deal; the 25-year-old set to become Spurs’ third summer signing; Arsenal, Aston Villa and Everton had all been interested in Mali international

Tottenham have agreed a deal worth in the region of £25m to sign Brighton’s Yves Bissouma, with the midfielder set to undergo a medical at Spurs on Thursday.

The 25-year-old has only one year left on his Brighton contract but is now set to become Tottenham’s third summer signing after goalkeeper Fraser Forster and Ivan Perisicjoined earlier this month.

Arsenal, Aston Villa and Everton had been among the other clubs interested in signing the Mali international this summer after Brighton had rejected a bid from Aston Villa for Bissouma in the January transfer window.

Tottenham have been watching Bissouma since he played for Lille and he had been on their list of targets to replace Moussa Dembele in 2018.

But Spurs ultimately signed Tanguy Ndombele in a club-record deal from Lyon, while Bissouma joined Brighton for around £15m, where he has shone after making 124 appearances for the Seagulls.

Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte was particularly impressed by Bissouma following his performances against Spurs last season.