Jacobs: Milan and Man Utd hold ‘genuine interest’ in Brighton defender – the situation

A new name has emerged in AC Milan’s hunt for a new left-back: Brighton and Hove Albion’s Pervis Estupinan.

Theo Hernandez’s six-year spell at Milan officially came to an end last week as his permanent move to Al-Hilal was confirmed by both clubs. He didn’t leave without firing a final jab at the management though, but now their task is to replace him adequately.

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Estupiñán on Milan’s radar

According to Ben Jacobs, both Manchester United and Milan ‘hold a genuine interest’ in Brighton’s Pervis Estupiñán. United have now held talks on the player side and though there has been ‘no formal approach yet’, Brighton are open to selling having signed Maxim De Cuyper from Club Brugge.

The 27-year-old joined Brighton back in 2022 and quickly became one of the better full-backs in the league. Now, however the Ecuador international faces more of an uncertain future after the arrival of the Belgian De Cuyper.

Estupinan racked up 35 league appearances with one goal and five assists in 2022-23, but then managed just 19 games the following season. In 2024-25 he played 30 times, with one goal and one assist.

We revealed last March that he is one of the names that Milan were looking at. In the past couple of seasons he has spent long spells out with muscle injuries and most recently an ankle problem that kept him sidelined from mid-April 2024 to the end of August.