Valentin Barco loan: Method or madness from Brighton?

The news that Valentin Barco is set to join Sevilla on a season-long loan from Brighton has been met with a mixture of surprise and disappointment by Brighton fans.

Barco was one of the stars of the final month of the Roberto De Zerbi Era. He appeared fearless in attack. Possessed a decent cross. And was already unafraid of the physicality of English football which fellow young South Americans like Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo took some getting used to.

It was easy to see in appearances against Manchester City and Chelsea why observers back in Argentina claimed Barco had the potential to end the World Cup winning nation’s wait to produce its first world class left back.

Then Fabian Hurzeler arrived as Brighton boss, bringing with him we assumed his successful 3-4-3 formation from St Pauli. A formation which suits Barco down to the ground.

There are some doubts about the defensive side of Barco’s game. But he is only 19-years-old. He has plenty of time ahead of him to iron those out.

Playing as a left wing back in Hurzeler’s 3-4-3 would hide those limitations. At the same time, it would give Barco even greater attacking freedom than he enjoyed under De Zerbi. Everything appeared to be pointing towards Barco having a breakthrough season at the Amex.

This opinion was held by the wider football community as well as Albion supporters. In Fantasy Premier League terms, Barco was one of the most heavily owned Brighton assets going into the opening weekend of the season.

He returned all those backers a grand total of zero points as an unused substitute during the Albion’s 3-0 win at Everton. Expect a mad rush amongst FPL managers to sell Valentin Barco now in light of Brighton loaning him to Sevilla.

Do Brighton have enough left back cover to loan out Valentin Barco?

There cannot be many people out though who do not think Barco is ready for Premier League football. Which means we must assume Brighton are sending Valentin Barco on loan to Sevilla because they do not think he will get enough game time over the course of the campaign.

It is an interesting stance to take. Barco remains the only fit and available natural left back in the current Albion squad.

Jack Hinshelwood was used in the role against Everton. Hurzeler experimented with Carlos Baleba at left back in pre-season and publicly discussed playing the Cameroonian midfielder there again in future.

Pervis Estupinan remains injured having undergone surgery at the end of last season. De Zerbi said in April that Estupinan would not be back until September or October.

Tariq Lamptey did a fine job on the left at times last season under De Zerbi but is out once again with an injury. Lamptey is also in the final year of his contract and could yet leave the Albion before the transfer window slams shut.

Hurzeler has already demonstrated his willingness to bend traditional positions and play a fluid formation.

But to send Valentin Barco out on loan would leave Brighton with only two central midfielders to play left or left wing back until Estupinan or Lamptey return. Presuming Lamptey is not flogged.

In this context, letting Barco enjoy a year of tapas, Cruzcampo and regular first team football in beautiful Seville seems like a risky decision.

He could get the regular first team football and Cruzcampo in Brighton. Not so sure about the five-star tapas, admittedly…

Brighton sending Valentin Barco on loan to Sevilla makes more sense if the Albion are signing a new left back who would usurp our ginger haired Argentine in the pecking order.

Barco out, Ferdi Kadioglu in?

Enter the conversation, Ferdi Kadioglu. Brighton have been chasing the Turkish international all summer. Perhaps the most versatile player in international football right now, Kadioglu can play right back, centre back, centre midfield, on the wing and even up front. Oh, and left back.

Negotiations with Fenerbahce have been long, drawn out and complicated by Manchester United showing lukewarm interest in Kadioglu.

The player himself apparently favours a move to Old Trafford. For that to happen, Sir Jim Ratcliffe needs to offer some of the £4 billion in tax he was estimated to have saved when moving his official residence from Hampshire to Monaco in 2020.

With the summer transfer window hurtling towards its conclusion and Sir Jim busy talking about how taxpayer money should be given to rebuild Old Trafford, a move to Brighton is increasingly looking like Kadioglu’s best chance of making it to the Premier League.

The Albion are likely to pay somewhere in the region of £27 million for Kadioglu. He is not coming to the Amex as a backup player for that fee.

If Hurzeler is planning to play Kadioglu at left back and the club are confident of landing the 24-year-old imminently, then a year with Sevilla starts making sense for Barco.

Sevilla will have no right to buy Barco

The loan deal taking Valentin Barco from Brighton to Sevilla includes no right-to-buy clause. That tells you the Albion believe Barco’s long-term future to be at the Amex and this is purely a temporary move to the benefit of both parties.

And it will benefit both parties as well as Barco. Sevilla finished 14th in La Liga last season. Not the sort of position you associate with a club who have dominated the Europa League over the past decade. Barco is a quality addition as they look to get back into the top half.

Barco himself will play every week in Spain. Something he needs at this stage in his career. He will benefit more from 40 games for Sevilla than battling Estupinan and potentially Kadioglu for minutes at Brighton. And that is before you take into account how much Hurzeler intends on playing Hinshelwood and Baleba as full backs.

Fast forward to next summer and the Albion get a more experienced, streetwise Barco back for their first team squad. He will still only be 20-years-old with plenty of room for future improvement.

All things considered, you can see the method behind Brighton loaning out Barco for 2024-25. The disappointment over the decision comes because Albion fans have seen glimpses of what he can do and the potential he has.

But if a year with Sevilla makes him twice the player he is now, imagine unleashing that on the Premier League in 2025-26?

The Albion always play the long game with carefully calculated plans over to maximise the youngest, brightest talent in their squad.

Barco is no different. A successful year in Spain can help him on his way to becoming the best import Brighton have ever made from South America. And there is some competition for that accolade.