Brighton reject £8million offer from European giants for Billy Gilmour as Antonio Conte eyes up ex-Chelsea star

Brighton have rejected an £8million offer from Napoli for Billy Gilmour, talkSPORT understands.

But the south coast outfit are not ruling out an exit for the 23-year-old, who only joined the club from Chelsea for £9m in 2022.

The Seagulls could be tempted to cash in on Scotland international Gilmour if Napoli are willing to pay in the region of £12m.

It remains to be seen whether the Serie A giants will return with an improved offer, with Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler likely to want a swift conclusion to any deal.

Gilmour featured regularly for Brighton last season - playing 41 games in all competitions.

But he is facing an uncertain future at the Amex Stadium following the exit of previous boss Roberto De Zerbi.

And should he make the move to Napoli, he would be reunited with former Blues manager Antonio Conte.

While it was Frank Lampard who handed Gilmour his Chelsea debut, the midfielder's first season in the club's academy was during Conte's final campaign in west London.

Gilmour could also be joined by his ex-Chelsea teammate Romelu Lukaku, who is keen too link-up with Conte once again after winning the Serie A title together at Inter Milan in 2021.

He would also be the second high-profile Scotsman in the Italian top-flight, with his international teammate Lewis Ferguson thriving at Bologna.

It has already been a busy summer at Brighton, who have made five first-team signings.

Brighton forked out £30million to sign winger Yankuba Minteh from Newcastle, while also nabbing Mats Wieffer from Feyenoord in a £25m deal.

That is in addition to shelling out £16m on forward Ibrahim Osman from Nordsjaelland, as well as around £6m on midfielder Malick Junior Yalcouye from Goteborg.

And they even fended off competition from fellow Premier League sides as well as Borussia Dortmund to secure the services of ex-Arsenal starlet Amario Cozier-Duberry on a free transfer.