Brighton facing conundrum over Marc Leonard

If there is one position where the Albion look set to enter the transfer marker this summer, it is midfield. Which leaves Brighton facing a conundrum over what to do with Marc Leonard.

Roberto De Zerbi has not been shy in giving his opinion on the Seagulls’ midfield. He explained with clear frustration the situation when the January transfer window closed: “We are two less players in midfield. I spoke with the club, but they decided in another way.”

Technical director David Weir has since reiterated it is an area which will be strengthened. Speaking recently on the Albion podcast, Weir said the club felt they had at least two players in every position at the start of the season.

This has definitely not been the case through 2024. The disappointing Mahmoud Dahoud was loaned to Stuttgart after only six months as a Brighton player.

Injuries meanwhile have ruled out Jack Hinshelwood and James Milner, who could have provided additional cover.

The situation became so problematic that De Zerbi was forced into using Jan Paul van Hecke as an emergency midfielder in the 3-0 defeat to Fulham back in March.

Rumours are even beginning to circulate about Brighton having to fend off another raid on their current midfield options.

Last summer saw the transfer saga of Moises Caicedo. This time around the circus may move to Carlos Baleba, despite his somewhat limited game time this season.

Several reports claim Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United are looking at Baleba. The Albion would apparently sell for £55 million.

Presumably, this is made-up figure given Brighton’s insistence they never reveal how much they want for player.

This time last year, WAB looked at the conundrum facing the Albion in keeping and bringing through development players to reach Premier League standards.

The higher the Albion climb and the greater expectations rise, the more difficult it becomes. For example, we concluded 21-year-old Solly March would probably have needed to leave Brighton for first team football if he were in the Under 21s setup now.

To the club’s credit, they seem to get the decision over who to keep and who to let go right most of the time. The only significant loss with the benefit of hindsight has been Viktor Gyokeres.

Behind Aaron Connolly in the pecking order at one point, Gyokeres moved to Coventry City for £1 million in the summer of 2022.

He then joined Sporting Lisbon for £20 million and is now valued up to £85 million with several Big Six clubs said to be interested in bringing him back to England this summer.

Marc Leonard

Enter the conversation, Marc Leonard. The 22-year-old midfielder has been quietly making headlines in two season-long loan spells with Northampton Town.

He first helped the Cobblers win promotion from League Two in 2022-23. This season he played a huge role in Northampton exceeding all expectations to finish 14th in League One.

Leonard has frequently been cited as one of the best players in League One, typified by him being named as Northampton’s Player of the Season.

His Cobblers manager Jon Brady is in no doubt Leonard can reach the highest level: “I feel for the here and now and for the longer term I would say Marc Leonard is one that both Rangers and Celtic should be looking at.”

“I know both teams have a lot of talent in the midfield but Marc is an outstanding young Scottish player. I believe he can go all the way to the top and if Rangers or Celtic were to come in for him then I feel he has the talent to flourish for either side.”

Brady accepts that Leonard has outgrown Northampton and League One: “He is beyond us now and rightly so, there is a lot of interest in him from the English Championship.”

“Certainly with the ability he has, for me, he has to be testing himself, at least in the Championship. He would be a huge asset to any team in that league.”

“The improvement in him has been scary. He came as a very good technical player but now he has gone up so many levels.”

“He has risen to every challenge we gave him and in the end, he was just grabbing games by the scruff of the neck and being a real difference maker. He came as a young player but has left Northampton as a man.”

Leonard’s statistics tell their own story. Five goals, nine assists and top ratings for key passes and progressive passes.

Perhaps most telling is the amount of football Leonard has played. Brady asserts: “This season he played every single league game. I think he only missed about 20 minutes of the season.”

This is a phenomenal achievement for a midfielder playing at a mid table club, where there will have been numerous occasions when the manager would have considered substituting such a player to get an extra forward on the pitch.

Leonard though was so consistent and impactful as to always stay on. It appears that a number of sides in the Championship share Brady’s view, with Leonard linked to half a dozen including recently relegated Sheffield United. Championship sides – the latest being relegated Sheffield United.

What do Brighton do now with Marc Leonard?

The big question then is what do Brighton do now with Marc Leonard? Andy Naylor in The Athletic has said the Albion are: “Poised to let Marc Leonard leave permanently this summer with the next step on his journey set to be regular football in the second tier.”

There appear to be three options for Leonard from here:

A) As Naylor suggests, a permanent move to the Championship for a fee in the region of £500,000

B) Brighton keep Marc Leonard and instead send him on loan to the second tier, or conceivably Rangers or Celtic as Brady suggests. This option gives the Albion another year to see if his development continues at its current pace, showing he has a future as regular in the Premier League.

C) Marc Leonard remains at Brighton for 2024-25 to bolster the club’s midfield options as a squad player

The Albion are under no immediate pressure to sell. Leonard is under contract until 2025. The club have the option to extend that to 2026.

The changing shape of the midfield pecking order

When he first joined Northampton in 2022, Leonard appeared to be behind several other development squad players in the midfield pecking order. In time, that meant option A) appeared most likely.

His performances for the Cobblers have been so good though – albeit it at a lower level than some other young Albion prospects – that he has potentially overtaken several.

Yasin Ayari and Andy Moran (Blackburn Rovers), Kacper Kozlowski (Vitesse Arnhem), Jensen Weir (Port Vale) and Jack Hinchy (Shrewsbury Town) have all spent time on loan this season.

None would appear to have had the same impact for their respective clubs as Leonard. And although it is impossible to know where Brighton view him against all those other young midfielders, he has done his chances of remaining at the Amex no harm.

Tough decisions with a stockpile of talent

What the Leonard conundrum highlights is the tough decision Brighton face when it comes to their stockpile of young talent. The Albion must balance what is best for the club, the player’s immediate development and their future career.

They must also factor in future transfer plans. Brighton might pursue option A) for Leonard in the belief they will strengthen their midfield this summer with a better quality of player.

Almost all Albion fans would support this approach. But also consider this; rumoured option Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall at Leicester City was only 23-years-old when he became a regular for the Foxes. Leonard has plenty of time on his side still to improve and develop further.

The player himself does not seem to be in any rush to leave Brighton. He told The Athletic how much he enjoyed training with the first team squad last summer: “When I went back in pre-season, I was amazed.”

“It was unreal to watch. To be a part of it was really special. The minute details that would get spoken about were things you would never think about it. When you watch Brighton — and I see as many games as I can — you see how efficient and effective they are in possession.”

Heeding the advice of Brady and looking at Leonard’s stats for Northampton, the Albion could do a lot worse than taking option B) or C) when it comes to Marc Leonard.

Peter Finn