Brighton's £7.5m forward admired by Manchester City and eyed-up as potential Riyad Mahrez replacement

Brighton & Hove Albion striker Julio Enciso is being eyed-up by Manchester City as a potential replacement to Riyad Mahrez.

The Premier League champions are looking for a replacement for the Algerian winger after he joined Al Ahli for a £30m fee.

The move ends Mahrez’s five-year stay at the Cityzens, in which he won ten major honours and scored 78 goals in 236 appearances.

According to Manchester Evening News journalist Rich Fay, Enciso is one of the names being talked about in the City hierarchy as a replacement for their talismanic winger.

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The Paraguayan wonderkid arrived in England last summer from Libertad for £9.5m and impressed towards the end of the 2022/2023 campaign for Roberto De Zerbi’s side. The 19-year-old scored two goal-of the season contenders against Chelsea and City to announce himself on the Premier League stage, finishing the season with four goals in 26 appearances for the Seagulls.

Enciso plays predominately as a striker, but can also operate off the left-flank and is known for his electric pace and long-range finishing. The Albion forward still has three years left on his current deal at the Amex Stadium and is unlikely to be able to leave the club cheaply.

It is unclear whether City plan to make a move for Enciso this summer. The seven-time Premier League champions have already signed Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic, as a replacement for club captain İlkay Gündoğan, and are currently working on a deal to bring in highly-regarded RB Leipzig defender Joško Gvardiol.

Brighton now look set to keep hold of midfielder Moises Caicedo, after Chelsea failed to meet the clubs' asking price for the 21-year-old and have reportedly began looking at other targets. Albion have signed five players already in this window but may be looking to add one more addition before September 1, with City’s Cole Palmer linked with a move to the south coast on a permanent deal.