9 reasons to be happy with what Brighton did in the transfer window
Judging by the reaction in some quarters as the summer 2021 transfer window slammed shut, you could have been forgiven for thinking that Brighton are now relegation certainties because of the business they conducted over the course of the past three months.
Aside from one very obvious area, there are plenty of reasons to be happy with the work that Dan Ashworth and the recruitment team have done in reshaping and strengthening the squad.
Warren Morgan has put together nine of them which will hopefully lift some of the doom and gloom which not signing a striker has caused to gather over the Sussex area.
1) Ben White
Selling Ben White for £50 million when most pundits and casual observers saw him leaving for £30 million or less. Not only was that a record receipt for Brighton, but it equalled 120 years of player sales in one transaction.
2) Cutting the wage bill
There has been a huge reduction in the wage bill via sales, loans and releases. High earners like Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Maty Ryan, Bernardo, Davy Propper and Florin Andone have all gone.
Alongside the money that has come in as part of the White deal, these savings have given the club more scope to make signings than was previously likely in the post-pandemic financial situation.
3) Enock Mwepu and Kjell Schepren
Enock Mwepu and Kjell Scherpen are good, solid additions to the squad who fit the profile of being young players with big futures. Once he adapts to life in the Premier League, Mwepu could be an inspired signing.
4) Marc Cucurella
Marc Cucurella is one of the most highly rated players in La Liga. Over the coming months, he is likely to be applauded by pundits as one of the best Premier League signings of the summer transfer window.
5) New contract for Solly March
Solly March had only a year left on his contract and he was attracting plenty of interest from elsewhere in the Premier League. He could easily have gone which would have been a serious blow as he is a key player who was apparently on the cusp of England selection before injury.
Throw in the return of Tariq Lamptey and it will be like having two new wing back signings. Both have the pace we lacked in the 2-0 defeat against Everton.
6) Obvious long-term planning
Signings like Abdallah Sima been made with the near-future in mind. Loaning players like Andi Zeqiri and others out is part of their long-term development and as we have seen with White and Robert Sanchez, is a proven way of preparing young talents for the Premier League either as key players with Brighton or as lucrative player sales.
Leo Ostigard and Reda Khadra are big talents worth keeping an eye on in the Championship. Taylor Richards is already in first team contention. A top 10 finish is not a one-season chance – this sort of planning is designed to get us there and keep us there.
7) Flexibility in the squad
Graham Potter values flexibility in his players. As Andy Naylor has suggested, additions to the squad in midfield are likely to free Leandro Trossard to play more as a number nine than a number 10.
Even if a situation comes to pass where Danny Welbeck is injured and Neal Maupay suspended at the same time, would Alexis Mac Allister and Trossard up front be so bad?
8) Missing a bullet with Odsonne Edouard
Was Odsonne Edouard from Celtic really the solution to the striker dilemma? Reports from Scotland about his play and attitude once it became clear other clubs were interested suggest he would have been a gamble. Crystal Palace may come to regret spending so much on him if the rumours of wages in excess of £70,000 per week are correct.
As for Darwin Nunez, who knows? The club clearly want him after going in twice in consecutive summer windows. That might be a deal we have not heard the last of.
10) Yves Bissouma is still a Brighton player
Yves Bissouma has not gone anywhere. At the end of the 3-2 win over Manchester City in May as he danced off the pitch, most of us were resigned to never seeing him in an Albion shirt again.
He is quite possibly the best player to ever turn out for Brighton and a huge asset. To have kept him for at least another four months is worth any number of new signings.
Yes, this list is missing a number nine, I know. But then so are the Albion. We are lacking in depth up front and really could have done with a proven, 15-goal-a-season player who had not been snapped up by a bigger club and was willing to take wages we could afford.
That is not at all easy and explains why Brighton end another window without a new striker. Trust Ashworth and the recruitment team…
