Ruben Amorim has been told that Brighton & Hove Albion winger Kaoru Mitoma has the quality to play for Manchester United.
The 27-year-old Japan international has established himself as a star player at the Amex Stadium since breaking into the Seagulls side in 2022.
Mitoma has contributed with 21 goals and 15 assists in 100 appearances for Brighton across all competitions, and he is one of four Seagulls players who has scored a team-high eight goals so far this season.
The winger’s stunning strike in a 3-0 home victory over Chelsea won February’s Premier League Goal of the Month award, the second time he has claimed the monthly prize which has put him just one behind both Bruno Fernandes and Andros Townsend who have won the award a record three times each.
Mitoma’s impressive displays for a Brighton side battling to qualify for next season’s Champions League caught the attention of Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Nassr in January, but they reportedly failed with a £54m bid after the Seagulls made it clear they would not part ways with any star players midway through the season.
“Top player” Mitoma is “good enough” for Man Utd
Brighton’s No.22 has also been linked with a number of Premier League clubs over the past 12 months including Chelsea, who have reportedly discovered that the Seagulls hierarchy would ‘reluctantly’ accept offers in the region of €80m (£66.2m) for the winger.
Man United have also been credited with an interest in Mitoma and former Brighton boss Gus Poyet believes that he is “good enough” to excel for Amorim’s side.
Speaking to Sussex World, Poyet said: “In terms of quality, he’s good enough for Manchester United. The question is, can he take the next step and perform at an even higher level, as a club like United demands?
“He’s a top player, and I hope he does because he’s so important to Brighton. I love watching him play.”
Mitoma is under contract at the Amex until June 2027, but Brighton CEO Paul Barber recently admitted that the club are likely to sell some of their top players in the near future.
“We know our best players are always going to be sought after by bigger clubs with bigger budgets,” Barber told BBC Sport’s Football Focus.
“We would love to keep all of our best players for as long as we can but part of our model is being prepared to sell at the right time.
“We are not saying that is going to be this summer, but certainly in the future we know that is probably like to happen.”
Could Man United sign Mitoma this summer?
Considering that Mitoma operates as a left-winger at Brighton, many may question how he could fit into Amorim’s 3-5-2 or 3-4-2-1 formation at Man United.
However, what may intrigue Amorim and Red Devil supporters is that Mitoma impressed as a hard-working left wing-back in Japan’s 2-0 win over Bahrain in AFC World Cup qualifying on Thursday.
This is not the first time that Mitoma has played as a wing-back for Japan, as he operated in this role during the previous two international breaks towards the end of last year.
If Man United were to step up their interest in Mitoma, that could potentially cast doubts over the future of fellow winger Alejandro Garnacho, who was tipped to leave Old Trafford in January.
