Paris FC is reportedly prepared to pay €18 million plus add-ons to sign Italian center-back Diego Coppola from Brighton & Hove Albion on a permanent basis. The deal, if completed, would nearly double the roughly €11 million Brighton originally paid Hellas Verona for the defender just a year ago.

From Verona to Brighton to Paris, and maybe back to Paris

Here’s the timeline. Coppola joined Brighton from Hellas Verona for approximately €11 million during the summer 2025 transfer window. He’s contracted at Brighton until 2030, which gives the English club significant leverage in any negotiation.

In late January 2026, Brighton sent Coppola on loan to Paris FC for the remainder of the 2025-26 season. The move was designed to give the young Italian regular playing time while Paris FC fought to keep their Ligue 1 status.

Coppola made 13 appearances for Paris FC and played a crucial role in the club’s survival efforts. His performances were strong enough to earn him a call-up to the Italian national team in March 2026. With the loan now expired, Coppola has returned to Brighton. As of early July 2026, no confirmed permanent transfer has been officially announced, and interest from Paris FC appears low.

Where blockchain enters the picture

Coppola is featured on Sorare, the Ethereum-based fantasy football platform that uses NFT cards representing real players. His cards are actively traded on the platform, and their value fluctuates based on real-world performance data.

Sorare has signed licensing deals with hundreds of football clubs globally, and individual player performance directly drives the utility and collectible value of their NFT cards. Players like Coppola, who are young, rising in profile, and moving between clubs, tend to generate outsized interest on the platform because their trajectory is uncertain and therefore tradeable.

The uncertainty around whether a deal actually closes creates volatility in both markets. That ambiguity drives trading volume on platforms like Sorare, where speculators might buy Coppola cards betting on a Paris FC move that increases his playing time, or sell them betting that he stays at Brighton.

NFT markets have cooled considerably from their 2021-2022 peaks. Sorare has maintained relevance partly because its product has genuine utility in fantasy football rather than relying purely on speculative demand. The platform’s long-term success depends on sustained engagement, continued licensing agreements, and the broader health of the Ethereum ecosystem it’s built on.