I am an English club, which plays mostly in blue and has spent more than 200 million euros. This sentence could obviously refer to Chelsea, a major player in the last transfer windows and which sits at the top of the spending rankings with 261 million euros spent. However, Brighton & Hove Albion has also been lining up tickets for several weeks. The second biggest spending club in the world, the team coached by Fabian Hürzeler has already put 231.2 million euros on the table. In addition, the negative balance is -196.91 million euros for Brighton, more than anyone else. A summer of strong investments for the English club which wants to assert its ambitions.
European for the first time in its history last season and eleventh in the Premier League, Brighton has asserted itself a little more as a thorn in the side and wants to settle into the top half of the table and thus return to Europe. With record profits following its recent performances, Brighton announced last April that it was in the positive by 145.9 million euros. Significant sums that were invested this summer to strengthen the team. In full transition with the loss of Roberto De Zerbi as well as the arrival of the young Fabian Hürzeler from St. Pauli, Brighton has put the means to support its new coach.
A historic transfer window
Keeping all the key players except Pascal Groß who signed for Borussia Dortmund, Brighton have strengthened their attacking and midfield positions mainly after a last season disrupted by numerous injuries. Thus, the Seagulls who are establishing themselves in a 4-2-3-1 with the arrival of the new coach have been able to count on the reinforcements of one of the best strikers in the Championship with Georginio Rutter (Leeds United, €46.7M), one of the revelations of the Eredivisie with the Gambian Yankuba Minteh (Newcastle, €35M), the Ghanaian nugget Ibrahim Osman (Nordsjaelland, €19.5M) and Brajan Gruda (Mainz, €31.5M) who had been a sensation at the end of last season in the Bundesliga. Additionally, youngster Amario Cozier-Duberry arrived on a free transfer from Arsenal’s reserves with big credentials.
In midfield, Mats Wieffer, a starter for the Netherlands at the Euro, also arrived for €32 million, while Matt O’Riley, a three-time Scottish champion with Celtic Glasgow, cost €29.5 million. Brighton also made a bet on the future with Malick Junior Yalcouyé, who arrived from IFK Gothenburg for €7 million. Finally, Fenerbahçe sensation Ferdi Kadıoğlu, a quarter-finalist at Euro 2024 with Turkey, cost €30 million. A total bill of €231.2 million for Brighton, which is close to the transfer expenditure of the last three seasons (€240.2 million), but the club had sold accordingly at that time (€407.4 million).
What stands out from this recruitment is the emphasis on youth with only players aged 24 or under. With an average age of 24.1, Brighton’s squad is the second youngest in the Premier League behind Chelsea (23.2). A daring strategy that is reflected in the coach given that Fabian Hürzeler is only 31. It is currently bearing fruit with two wins in two matches for the Seagulls who share the top of the Premier League with Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal. This is good, as the next match will take place against the Gunners this Saturday.
