Fulham's efforts to sign Swansea City midfielder Matt Grimes could be set for a frustrating transfer blow, with Watford and Brighton and Hove Albion entering the race to land his signature. 

It had previously been reported by the Daily Mail that Marco Silva's side were closing in on an agreement to sign Grimes, who is keen to depart the club after Steve Cooper left his role in charge of Swansea earlier this month.

Grimes has a considerable amount of experience under his belt, having made 157 appearances for the Swans, since signing for the club back in 2015.

51 of those appearances came in the 2020/21 season, as Swansea narrowly missed out on promotion into the Premier League, after a defeat to Brentford in the Championship play-off final at Wembley.

Fulham would have previously been confident of securing a deal to sign Grimes this summer, as they'll have their own ambitions of challenging for promotion straight back into the Premier League at the first time of asking, following their relegation from the top-flight last term.

But with both Watford and Brighton and Hove Albion recently registering their interest in signing the midfielder, Fulham might struggle to get a deal over the line to sign the 26-year-old.

The prospect of playing Premier League football could be too good of an opportunity to turn down for any player, but with Grimes at the age of 26 he'll be looking to play at the highest possible level, whilst he's at the peak of his career.

He was a key member of the Swansea team last term, and you would imagine that he will be eager to play in the Premier League if the opportunity arises. With an average Whoscored rating of 6.96, it certainly makes for good reading for Grimes in last year's campaign with the Swans.

If Watford or Brighton and Hove Albion can offer him regular minutes, then it wouldn't come as a surprise to see it potentially be a no-brainer for Grimes to pursue a move to either team before the summer transfer window reaches a conclusion.

Fulham will have ambitions of winning promotion into the Premier League this season though, and with Marco Silva in charge, as well as having a number of key players remaining at Craven Cottage so far over the summer, which is a positive ahead of their season opener against Middlesbrough on Sunday 8th August.

It's vital that the Cottagers act swiftly in their efforts to sign Grimes after this recent development, as it would be a real statement of intent if they were to beat both Brighton and Hove Albion and Watford in the race to land his signature