Albion have turned Marc Cucurella into the world’s most expensive full-back.

The Seagulls held out for and negotiated a fee from Chelsea in excess of £60 million.

They stood their ground in dealings with Manchester City and Chelsea, two of the richest clubs in the Premier League, even as intermittent and unhelpful steers were leaked to social media.

Chelsea got their man yesterday after City had backed away from the Seagulls’ determination to stick to their valuation.

The fee to be paid is greater than that which was prematurely reported in midweek.

It surpasses the £59.85 million Paris St-Germain spent on Achraf Hakimi from Inter last summer and therefore makes Cucurella the world’s most expensive full-back.

Joao Cancelo cost Manchester City £58.5 million from Juventus.

In terms of left-backs, Cucurella goes well clear of Benjamin Mendy, who cost City just short of £52 million from Monaco five years ago.

Now boss Graham Potter has hailed the man who signed for about £15 million from Getafe less than a year ago as one of the best in the business.

Potter praised Albion’s recruitment work and said: “He’s a top, top player. We think he’s one of the best left-backs in the world. And he can also play left of a three, that’s quite rare.

“He can play left wing-back too. To be able to play those three positions, to give you that flexibility when you’ve got probably 50 or 60 matches to play is very good.

“Then, as a person, he is a top guy. The players love him. A nice personality, really good.

“You can spend a lot of money in football and not guarantee, but I think as a guy and a footballer they have got a very good player.”

Albion are assessing their options for tomorrow’s game at Manchester United but have everyone available except long-term absentee Jakub Moder.