Brighton have knocked back Coventry City's opening £20m bid for Carl Rushworth, currently on loan at the Championship club, who want to make the move permanent. The rejection was about money, not principle: Coventry's offer fell below Brighton's valuation, and the 24-year-old goalkeeper has signalled he won't stay at Brighton unless his status changes. So this is a live situation — interest, not collapse — but only an initial bid has landed and nothing has advanced past that first knockback. The sourcing here is genuinely strong. Andy Naylor, a reliable Brighton voice, and The Athletic, a benchmark outlet, both report the rejected bid, while Andy Turner has detailed the numbers across two posts. That's a credible chorus rather than a lone whisper, which is why the story stands on solid ground even at this early stage. The 42% reading means this is genuinely in the balance — a coin-flip leaning slightly against completion as things stand. The encouraging signs are real: the player wants out, the buyer is keen, and the obstacle is a price gap rather than a flat refusal. What's holding it back is that Coventry haven't yet returned with an improved offer, and the asking price (£20m up to £27.8m) sits well above the player's ~£9m market value, a sizeable stretch for a Championship side. Brighton have form for landing big money on sales: Tottenham paid £25m in 2022, Stuttgart £23m in 2024 and Sunderland £21m in 2025. Coventry's £20m therefore sits just below where Brighton's recent business has settled — the ambition fits, the figure needs nudging up. Watch for Coventry's second bid. An improved offer nearer Brighton's valuation is the trigger that turns this from interest into a deal.