We were among the media outlets that claimed Chelsea and Brighton had reached an agreement for Chelsea to acquire Marc Cucurella, but the Seagulls just issued a pretty blunt statement denying that.

In spite of "inaccurate reports" from "numerous media outlets," they claimed on Twitter that there was "no agreement" to sell their player.

They don’t want to be bullied, that much is clear, but we doubt those journalists like Jason Burt of the Telegraph, who reported the deal initially, would have said it was done if it was far away.

They want to be treated with respect by the media – as is their right – and all those transfer gurus jumping the gun to try and get the exclusives could be left very red-faced if a deal doesn’t happen now.

We don’t rule out a deal still happening, but Brighton wouldn’t kick up such a fuss unless they were really intending to hold out for significantly more than what was being put on the table.