Signing an 18 goal in 24 games striker for £7m? Brilliant business

So we have done it. We have finally signed another striker. Yes, like Abdallah Sima he has gone immediately out on loan, but in the case of Deniz Undav it is back to the club he currently plays for, one owned by Tony Bloom and nine points clear at the top of the Belgian league.

Hmph, I hear you say, the Belgian league. Do I really need to list all the talent that has come out of Belgium, or how good their national side is? Leandro Trossard might want a word with you too for being dismissive of his country’s footballing prowess.

Union Saint-Gilloise are headed for the Champions League, something we as Brighton fans can only dream of at this stage (Europa League maybe).

What does it say about our ambitions to play in Europe if we are continually so dismissive of the Belgian, Dutch and other European leagues in comparison to the English Premier?

Yes, you can give examples of Jurgen Locadia, Alireza Jahanbaksh and Percy Tau not working out. But that is football.

Every signing we make is an educated guess, a calculated risk. Sometimes it doesn’t pay off and the club doesn’t get a return on its outlay.

I would point you to Marc Cucurella, Jakub Moder, Tariq Lamptey and other recent signings who have been brought in for good money and been huge successes.

They are a testament to the brilliance of our recruitment team, who continue to add players who may not feature in our first team but who draw a profit in subsequent transfers to invest in players that then do.

We are very unlikely to sign a Premier League-proven 15-goal a season striker. After all, no player is proven at Premier League level until they are proven.

As far as strikers go, only six or seven have better goal tallies than Neal Maupay, and even if any were up for sale their fee and wage demands would be beyond what we are willing and able to pay.

Let us look at Undav’s stats, courtesy of Charlie Haffenden:

“Here’s where Undav features in a list of players with 30+ goal contributions in Europe’s top 10 leagues in 2021/22:

That’s it. That’s the end of the list. The closest to Deniz Undav are Mohamed Salah (25), Robert Lewandowski (24), and Karim Benzema (24).”

18 goals in 24 games and we are paying well under £10 million? That is brilliant business, and surely the most that a club like Brighton can currently hope for in terms of that calculated risk.

Undav’s fee is more than covered by the £13 million Newcastle United have paid for Dan Burn, never mind the money left from the summer sale of Ben White. Dan will be missed, but goes with the very best wishes of all I am sure.

The transfer window has slammed shut with Undav and Kasper Kozlowski added to the squad. Promising young players in Jeremy Sarmiento and Odel Offiah have signed new deals and Lamptey and Yves Bissouma remain on the books.

That is a very, very good January window for me.

Warren Morgan @WarrenBHAFC