Brighton manager Fabio Hurzeler has confirmed striker Evan Ferguson simply wants first-team football amid interest from West Ham.
Standard Sport understands the Republic of Ireland international is a major target for the Hammers, having previously worked with manager Graham Potter on the south coast.
Ferguson returned to training on Wednesday after his latest setback and could be included in the Seagulls squad for Saturday's Premier League trip to Nottingham Forest.
However, asked if he could be allowed to leave the club either on a permanent or loan basis before Monday's deadline, head coach Hurzeler told a press conference: "I want to keep working with him.
"But like I've always said, it's important to discuss with him what is important for the individual development of the player because that's the main thing from the club. We want to improve the development of the players, we want to help them and therefore we need an exchange.
"Then we'll see what makes sense for the player [over] the next six months, what makes sense for the club and then we will make a decision together. It won't be an individual decision, always a togetherness.
"I've felt in the conversations I've had with Evan that he only wants to play, that's his main thing, no matter if it's here or for another club."
Such was Ferguson's rise that he was handed a senior international debut in a friendly against Norway as an 18-year-old in November 2022 and scored his first Ireland goal against Latvia in the following March.
A hat-trick in Brighton's 3-1 Premier League win against Newcastle in September 2023 set tongues wagging, but fitness concerns for much of the intervening period have seen him struggle to fulfil that early promise.
Hurzeler said: "I think it's difficult if you have always small issues, you can't get in your rhythm, that's the main thing. We need to get him being stable on the pitch, being consistently on the pitch, and therefore we try to help him to get the right shape, to be more resilient.
"He hasn't forgotten how to score goals, he's still a big danger for every team. He shows it in every session that he has an unbelievable skill, and that's also our responsibility to help him to get this shape back where he was once.
"I'm sure that he will be back, but the most important thing is that he gets in his rhythm and that his body is more resilient."
Additional reporting from PA
