England’s Brighton signed Ecuadorian defender Pervis Estupiñán from Spain’s Villarreal on Tuesday in a deal worth around 17 million pounds ($20 million).
Estupiñán signed a five-year deal with the Premier League club, which was seeking a replacement for Spaniard Marc Cucurella after his move to Chelsea.
“We’re excited about what Pervis brings us, and he’s in a role that we’ve been looking to bring more depth to,” said Brighton manager Graham Potter.
“Beyond his international experience, he played for Villarreal in the Champions League and the Europa League, as well as gaining a lot of experience in La Liga. We’ll help him settle in here in England but we’re looking forward to working with him and seeing him in action in the Premier,” he added.
The 24-year-old had signed for Watford in 2016 but spent four seasons on loan in Spain, at Granada, Almería, Mallorca and Osasuna, before joining Villarreal in 2020.
Pervis helped Unai Emery’s team win the Europa League in his first season in the ‘Yellow Submarine’.
He has 26 international matches with Ecuador. In addition to sharing a squad with Paraguayan Julio Enciso, in his new team he will coincide with his compatriots Moisés Caicedo and Jeremy Sarmiento.
