Watford and Brighton and Hove Albion have entered the race to sign Swansea City midfielder Matt Grimes, according to Football Insider.

Grimes has been with the Swans since 2015, and has gone on to make 157 appearances in total for the club, which includes 51 in the 2020/21 season.

The midfielder captained the Swans in last year's campaign, which ended in a frustrating manner, as they missed out on promotion into the Premier League, after a defeat to Brentford in the Championship play-off final.

Grimes has been attracting interest from Fulham in recent weeks, with the Daily Mail having reported that a move to Craven Cottage was close to be agreed this summer.

But Watford and Brighton and Hove Albion have joined Marco Silva's side in the race to strike an agreement with the Swans for Grimes in the near future.

Watford will be planning for life back in the Premier League, and have evidently been impressed with what they've seen from Grimes in recent seasons.

Whilst Brighton are well-established in the top-flight now, and are keen to add depth to their midfield options ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.

Football Insider claim that Grimes could be available for a fee of just £1.5million, due to the midfielder only having one year remaining on his current deal with Swansea.

The Verdict: 

It's not surprising to see Premier League interest in Grimes' services.

The midfielder caught the eye with a number of impressive showings for Swansea City last term, and it was a shame that they couldn't cap off a memorable season with promotion into the Premier League.

But with Steve Cooper departing the Swans over the summer, it's likely that we'll see further departures at the Liberty Stadium before the new league campaign gets underway.

Grimes evidently isn't short of options ahead of the new season, and it'll be interesting to see which club lands his signature on a permanent basis.