Brighton hope to have the edge in the pursuit of Chelsea's Tammy Abraham by virtue of Chris Hughton's strong relationship with Michael Emenalo.

The Chelsea technical director is selective over where players are sent on loan and views Brighton under Hughton as a good place for the club's youngsters to gain experience.

Abraham is a loan target for a number of clubs with Newcastle also strongly in the running. Rafa Benitez has made a personal bid in trying to secure the season-long move.

Brighton hope to have the edge in the pursuit of Chelsea's Tammy Abraham on loan

Chelsea will let Abraham out to a Premier League club to aid his development after the 19-year-old scored 26 goals in 48 games while at Bristol City.

Both Brighton and Newcastle have been granted permission to speak to the striker by Chelsea but the Premier League champions rate him highly and will not countenance a sale.

As well as Hughton's high standing among the power-brokers at Stamford Bridge, Brighton's relatively close proximity to Chelsea's Cobham training base is also in their favour.