Brighton beat Wolves and Aston Villa to the signing of Charlie Penman when they brought the centre-back in last week.

The teenager had been with Blackpool and he was highly-rated at Bloomfield Road, with the defender featuring for the U18s as a 15-year-old last year.

Therefore, he was a name known to many top-flight sides and it was recently confirmed that Penman had chosen to link up with the Seagulls for the next step of his development.

An update from Football Insider has revealed what a coup that was for Brighton, as they claimed that Villa, Wolves and Southampton had gone in for the player too. However, they state that the sales pitch by those at Brighton convinced Penman his future should be with them.

He has now signed an initial scholarship with the club that will turn into a professional deal on his 17th birthday.

Due to his age, Blackpool will only receive a compensation fee of £300,000 for the deal that has taken Penman to the AMEX Stadium.

The verdict

Clearly, Penman is someone who has attracted a lot of attention with his performances for Blackpool at youth level and he had a pick of a few Premier League clubs.

Obviously, he was very impressed with what Brighton said to him and it could be a move that works out for him further down the line.

From Blackpool's perspective, it's frustrating to lose such a talented youngster, at a low price, but it also shows that they are getting things right in terms of developing younger players and that's crucial to them in the long-term.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.