Marc Cucurella: Manchester City's £30m bid for Brighton left-back rejected

Brighton have rejected a £30m bid for Marc Cucurella from Manchester City.

The bid falls well short of Brighton's valuation of the player which is understood to be £50m.

Sky Sports News can confirm Brighton have rejected the Premier League champions' first offer for the player.

The 23-year-old enjoyed a hugely successful first season in the Premier League after joining from Getafe in a deal worth around £15m last summer.

Champions City are looking to strengthen in other areas after the arrival of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund.

Brighton do not want to let Cucurella leave and it would take a huge offer for them to sell given he has four years remaining on his contract at the Amex.

Analysis: Why are Manchester City chasing Cucurella?

Sky Sports' Ron Walker:

Since Benjamin Mendy was arrested last summer Manchester City have operated without a natural left-back. Oleksandr Zinchenko has filled in manfully for a number of years now, and Joao Cancelo made the position his own last season to the point where he was named in the PFA Team of the Year by his peers.

But now Zinchenko is wanted elsewhere with Arsenal and West Ham two sides already linked, and while Cancelo has the versatility to play on either side of defence, more depth is a natural requirement for the club.

Cucurella has adapted to the Premier League with ease and was named Brighton's Player of the Season for 2021/22, a campaign in which they achieved their highest-ever league finish.

Man City fixtures: West Ham visit live on Sky Sports

Manchester City kick off their Premier League title defence with a visit to West Ham on Sunday August 7, with the game live on Sky Sports.

The first Manchester derby of the season is at the Etihad on October 1, before City travel to title rivals Liverpool on October 15.

The champions' final game before the season takes a break for the winter World Cup is at home to Brentford on November 12 and when the campaign resumes, they face Leeds at Elland Road on Boxing Day.

City have a tough start to 2023 with tricky-looking back-to-back clashes at Chelsea and Manchester United on January 2 and 14 respectively.

As the campaign draws to a close, Pep Guardiola's side have their return meeting with Liverpool, at the Etihad, on April 1 and then host Chelsea on May 20, before concluding at Brentford on May 28.

Follow the summer transfer window with Sky Sports

Who will be on the move this summer when the transfer window opens on June 10 and closes at 11pm on September 1?

Keep up-to-date with all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports' digital platforms. You can also catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News.