Brighton sign ‘the next Saka’ Amario Cozier-Duberry from Arsenal

Amario Cozier-Duberry has been hailed as the next Bukayo Saka by those in-the-know at Arsenal – and now he is a Brighton player.

Ironically, it is the presence of Saka at the Emirates Stadium which has led Cozier-Duberry to sign for Brighton following his Arsenal contract expiring.

Cozier-Duberry wants to play first team football and his chances of that with the Gunners look restricted all the while Saka remains a key man for Arsenal.

That has allowed the Seagulls to swoop, securing one of the most exciting young English players around ahead of a whole host of other interested clubs across Europe.

The 19-year-old was wanted by Newcastle United, Borussia Dortmund and teams in powerhouse football nations like Spain and Belgium. Somebody in Scotland was apparently interested too.

Cozier-Duberry though has opted for the Albion thanks to Brighton’s reputation for giving opportunities to young players and developing talent.

Brighton will have to pay Arsenal compensation due to Cozier-Duberry spending five years in the Gunners’ academy. Should he end up being the next Saka, whatever the Albion are made to fork out will pale into insignificance compared to his resale value.

Amario Cozier-Duberry – the story so far

Cozier-Duberry made his debut for Arsenal Under 18s aged only 15 in the 2020-21 season. He scored once and assisted once in his first three appearances, becoming a regular for 2021-22 when he also made his Under 21s debut.

His overall record for Arsenal Under 18s reads 31 matches, 10 goals and eight assists. Five of those goals came in the 2022-23 FA Youth Cup, when Cozier-Duberry fired Arsenal to the final where they lost to West Ham United.

He has played 48 times for the Under 21s, scoring 18 times and registering 10 assists. His final contribution as a Gunner was to be named Premier League 2 Player of the Month for May 2024 after scoring four times and assisting once to help Arsenal finish fifth in the table.

Cozier-Duberry was handed a couple of first team opportunities in pre-season friendly matches by Mikel Arteta. He was named on the bench for matches in the Champions League, Europa League, Premier League and League Cup but never played a competitive minute for Arsenal.

At international level, Cozier-Duberry has represented England from Under 16s to Under 19s. He has 20 Three Lions caps to his names, scoring seven goals.

The next Bukayo Saka

The comparison to Saka was first coined by Arsenal Under 18s coach Jack Wilshere. “Amario is very exciting and Mikel likes him,” Wilshere said.

“He reminds me of Bukayo Saka, plays in the same position as him, needs to get better with his decision-making like Bukayo did, but he’s definitely exciting.”

Cozier-Duberry has spent most of his career so far operating as an inverted right winger. His best trait is his ability to run at defenders.

At only 5’6, he has a low centre of gravity which enables him to remain well-balanced and keep the ball when moving at rapid speed.

Although predominantly left footed, Cozier-Duberry is equally comfortable on his right. It means opposition full backs never know what he is going to do; cut inside and shoot or whip in a cross. Defending against such unpredictability is difficult.

Another aspect of his game which Cozier-Duberry has been praised for is what happens when he loses the ball. A lot of the time, he ends up winning it back.

Arsenal Under 21s and Under 18s both play a 4-3-3 formation to mirror the first team with Cozier-Duberry the right-sided forward.

But his possession-recovering abilities mean Cozier-Duberry could likely do a job as a wing back too. Just like Saka did to brilliant effect for England in their Euro 2024 quarter final against Switzerland.

Where will Cozier-Duberry fit in at Brighton?

Cozier-Duberry is joining Brighton for first team football… but how likely is he to get that straight away? talkSPORT are reporting he will first join up with Albion Under 21s.

The fanfare with which the club have greeted his acquisition, however, goes above and beyond any other signing Brighton have made for an academy player. That would suggest he is expected to be part of Fabian Hurzeler’s first team squad.

In which case, Cozier-Duberry will be in competition with fellow new signings Yankubu Minteh and Ibrahim Osman for the right forward spot in Hurzeler’s favoured 3-4-3.

The return of Solly March at some point in the autumn will further increase competition for places, although March looks better suited to a wing back role.

Wherever and whenever Cozier-Duberry ends up fitting in, the angst amongst Arsenal fans over his departure tells you that Brighton are signing a serious prospect.

Expect him to join Chelsea in 2027 for £237 million.