Brighton summer net spend shows how to run a football club

The rise and rise of Brighton on the pitch is well known by Albion fans and the rest of the football world. As no doubt is the exceptionality of the club’s dealings in the transfer market.

In a series of three WAB articles, we are going to examine just why Brighton are so good at turning a profit whilst at the same time progressing on the field to the point where they are now playing Europa League football.

Article one looks at the Albion’s summer 2023 transfer window business and how their net spend compares with the rest of the Premier League.

Transfer Fees
Completing a robust analysis of transfers is a fraught and time-consuming process with Brighton one of many clubs who love to describe transfer fees as “undisclosed.”

Further complications come when considering how achievable add-ons are. Will the Albion see the £15 million in add-ons included in the £115 million deal for Moises Caicedo? Not forgetting that a significant percentage of the fee goes to clubs and representatives in his native Ecuador.

For these three articles, I am indebted to the work and charts of BlueCityBrain and the fascinating analysis they have completed of premier league spend in the last 5 years

Summer 2023 spend by numbers
The headline figures show this summer having the second biggest spend in Premier League history at £2.6 billion. And as the BlueCityBrain chart below shows, the six biggest spenders come from the now “Big Seven”.

The exception are Manchester City, who have net spent consistently less than the rest of the Big Seven over the past five years.

This of course does not factor in that Erling Haaland is not the cheap transfer he may first appear as the low fee paid to Borussia Dortmund is offset by sky-high wages. Salary data is therefore key to a more rounded view of overall spend.

Other takeaways from net spend figures are that the world needs to forget the Plucky Little Bournemouth tag. Their place in the Premier League is not so much a fairy tale as having been bought for over £100 million, making them the seventh biggest net spenders in English football.

Nottingham Forest meanwhile have gone through an incredible churn of players, making 40 signings in the past year since winning promotion. One presumes their players must wear name badges on the training ground to help staff keep up with who is who.

Brighton summer 2023 transfer window
Inevitably, the BlueCityBrain chart shows Brighton making the biggest net profit of any club – £87 million on 2nd September when the chart was produced.

The actual figure is now closer to £91 million when factoring in the recent sale of Andi Zeqiri to Genk and including the reported 10 percent sell-on from Viktor Gyokeres’ transfer from Coventry City to Sporting Portugal.

Even though Brighton made the biggest profit of any club, the BlueCityBrain purchase chart below shows there is a definite willingness to spend significant sums to try and maintain the club’s elevated status.

Brighton broke their transfer record before the summer window had even opened, spending £30 million on Watford forward Joao Pedro.

Had the Albion managed to agree personal terms with Ajax midfielder Mohammed Kudus, then Pedro would have been the most expensive signing in Brighton history for less time than Liz Truss lasted as prime minister.

Likewise, the audacious loan of Ansu Fati demonstrate a clear willingness to back Roberto De Zerbi. And again, this is where salaries can provide further insight on spend, with Brighton reported to be paying from £160,000 a week upwards for the Barcelona number 10.

In terms of the BlueCityBrain sales chart above, the Albion are far eclipsed by Chelsea. The Blues have had to make numerous sales in a vague attempt to balance the books following their extreme buying policy which has seen over £1 billion spent since Todd Boehly arrived.

As De Zerbi said: “It is normal for Brighton to sell players. The most important thing for Brighton, is not to keep the most important players, but to find their replacement. This is the right work we have to do”.

This level of sales in the past 18 months can be taken as the new normal for the Albion over the next few transfer windows, as many of the club’s starts are going to be in-demand by bigger clubs.

A good summer 2023 transfer window for Brighton?
The Guardian Summer 2023 Transfer Window Review scored Brighton at 4/5 for their business, commenting: “There is a rich anticipation each window around the business Brighton do.”

“Most clubs would quiver at the prospect of losing key players but the Seagulls happily take the huge profit and reinvest it.”

“They moved quickly to bring in Joao Pedro, Mahmoud Dahoud and James Milner but the most interesting deal is that of Ansu Fati who will get a chance to fulfil his La Masia promise in the Premier League.”

At this point, 4/5 looks fair. Brighton clearly enjoyed a strong transfer window from a financial perspective and look to have improved going forward.

All four matches so far have exhibited vibrant attacking performances and the club leads the Premier League expected goals table.

However, the concern is an increased defensive frailty. Brighton have the fifth highest expected goals against so far, whilst the following Between the Posts graphic shows the Albion defence becoming increasingly vulnerable.

What needs to happen to turn Brighton’s summer 2023 transfer window into 5/5 business? If two of the following five hopes materialised, the Albion would be moving towards near-perfect territory.

Bart Verbruggen can tighten up the defence by becoming the world class goalkeeper his stats suggest from his time at Anderlecht.

Verbruggen might then find himself breaking the record £72 million Chelsea spent on Kepa Arrizabalaga with the Dutchman’s place in the Albion XI seamlessly taken by Carl Rushworth and/or James Beadle.

It is no coincidence those expected goals against numbers have worsened since Caicedo was sold. If De Zerbi’s claims on how good Carlos Baleba is are true, then the new £25 million signing from Lille can make a difference to the chances Brighton are conceding.

“I think he (Baleba) is very close with Moises,” De Zerbi said. “Different because all players are different but he has the same quality, the same characteristics. He can become as good a player as Moises Caicedo.”

Brighton could of course become even better going forward, improving the retrospective view of their transfer window.

If Fati discovers the form which made him “the next Messi” then he can take the Premier League by storm. Fingers are firmly crossed he has not been too diminished by all his knee problems.

The Albion also have the exciting arrival of Adrian Mazilu to look forward to in January. His performance highlights so far this season show a player similar in style to Kaoru Mitoma.

And who knows who will emerge from the academy over the coming year? One of the next big sales to boost that net spend figure might not be the usual suspects of Mitoma or Evan Ferguson, but somebody breaking into the Brighton XI from the Under 23s and becoming a future star.

Peter Finn