Jakub Moder will be a Brighton player on January 1st
Reinforcements are arriving in January. Brighton & Hove Albion have confirmed that they will be exercising their right to recall Jakub Moder from his loan deal with Lech Poznan, bringing the Polish midfielder to the Amex as soon as the winter transfer window opens.
The Albion paid £9.5 million to Lech in October for the 21-year-old’s services, agreeing to loan him back to his former club.
The rumour at the time was that he would stay in Poland for as long as Lech remained in the Europa League with their elimination at the group stage earlier in December paving the way for him to move to the Premier League.
Moder is considered one of the hottest properties in Polish football. He has played 54 times for Lech’s first team since his debut in 2018, registering 12 goals and nine assists in that time.
He made his international debut in September and has now won six caps for Poland. In November, Moder notched his first goal for his country when scoring in a friendly against Ukraine.
A versatile player, Moder has been used by Lech as a box-to-box midfielder, a holding midfielder, a number 10, down both flanks and as a centre forward. Graham Potter will have a lot of fun with yet another individual who he can play in a different position every week.
At 6’3, Moder’s physique will bring a new dimension to an Albion midfield that is not exactly blessed with height. He looks to be a dynamic individual and a partnership of Moder and the equally exciting Yves Bissouma could be one of the most intriguing in the Premier League, providing Brighton can fight off interest from the big six for Bissouma.
Watch Moder’s highlight reel and you will see a collection of blockbuster goals, outrageous skills and clever passes. As always, this does come with a word of warning to take anything on YouTube with a pinch of salt.
Even Jurgen Locadia can look good in a video, as those Albion fans who started wetting themselves in excitement when he was captured for £14 million from PSV Eindhoven in January 2018.
At the same time as Brighton signed Jakub Moder, they also picked up 19-year-old left back Michał Karbownik for £5 million, loaning him straight back to Legia Warsaw. There is no news yet on whether Karbownik will be joining Moder at the Amex in January.
Given that Solly March is the Albion’s only realistic option at left wing back with Dan Burn looking like a fish out of water and Bernardo seeming to have left his football ability in 2019, you could make a case that recalling Karbownik would be more valuable to the Albion now than Moder.
An untimely injury to March would leave Brighton up a left sided creek without a paddle. Securing the services of both young Poles early would be a real boost for Potter’s squad depth.
Moder could make his debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers on January 2nd. If he does, he will become the first Pole to play for Brighton since Tomasz Kuszczak. Hopefully, he does not like drinking coffee as much as the Albion’s former number one.
