Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Roberto De Zerbi has labelled Watford forward Joao Pedro a "great player" amid reports linking the Seagulls with a summer move for the 21-year-old.
Pedro has spent just over three years with the Hornets since leaving Brazilian side Fluminense in January 2020 for around £9m.
Watford's No.10 has since developed into a key player at Vicarage Road, scoring 24 goals and providing nine assists in 109 appearances across all tournaments.
Pedro initially took time to adjust to English football, but he has enjoyed a successful spell in front of goal in the Championship this season and is Watford's top scorer with 11 goals in 35 league games.
Despite links with Newcastle United earlier this year, Brighton appear to have stepped up their interest in Pedro, with a recent report claiming that the Seagulls have reached an agreement with Watford to sign the forward for a club-record fee worth around £30m.
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Asked at a press conference on Friday about the rumours regarding Pedro, De Zerbi smiled and said, as quoted by The Argus: "I don't know Joao Pedro."
The Italian added: "No, Joao Pedro is a big, big player but I don't know if it is close or not. He is a great player.
"I think we are a very good team, we can improve, but it is not the right moment to speak too much of the transfer market."
Pedro put pen to paper on a new long-term contract with Watford at the beginning of the season, extending his deal until the summer of 2028.
However, with Watford missing out on a place in the Championship playoffs – currently sitting 13th in the second-tier table – Pedro is seemingly tempted by the prospect of playing in the Premier League with European-chasing Brighton.
The Seagulls currently sit eighth in the top-flight standings four points behind seventh-placed Liverpool with two games in hand and five points behind both sixth-placed Aston Villa and fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with three games in hand.
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Brighton are set to be in the headlines on a regular basis when the summer transfer window opens with a number of their star players attracting interest from elsewhere following an impressive 2022-23 campaign.
Moises Caicedo was strongly linked with a move to Arsenal in January, but a transfer to the Emirates Stadium failed to materialise and the Ecuadorian has since penned a new long-term contract until 2027.
Nevertheless, the Gunners are still believed to hold an interest in the 21-year-old, although he recently expressed his desire to represent Real Madrid in the future.
Alexis Mac Allister has also been strongly linked with a summer exit amid interest from the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea, with the player's father recently admitting that a departure is likely.
Evan Ferguson is another to have attracted interest from a number of Premier League clubs, although the 18-year-old striker looks set to remain at Brighton after penning a new long-term deal earlier this week.
Oliver Thomas
