Brighton & Hove Albion January 2023 Transfer Window Round Up
First, the good news. Brighton managed to hold onto Moises Caicedo in the January 2023 transfer window despite the future of their star midfield dominating much of the news cycle and threatening to turn into something of a saga.
First we had Chelsea bidding £55 million, despite Glow Up Graham Potter saying less than five months ago Caicedo was worth £100 million.
Then Arsenal came in with bids of £60 million and £70 million. At some point, the rumour that Caicedo is only paid £3500 per week and works part-time in the McDonald’s at Holmbush to top up his wages took off.
This led to Gunners fans claiming he was being held against his well with some going as far as to suggest Arsenal sue Brighton in the high court on behalf of Caicedo for oppressive employment practices.
In the middle of all this, Caicedo signed up with new representatives. After just five days as their client, they advised Caicedo to post on Instagram that he wanted to leave the Albion.
This did not quite have the impact that those greedy agents were hoping for. Caicedo was placed on gardening leave for the next week until the transfer window closed to shut down any prospect of him going on strike, whilst at the same time strengthening the resolve of Tony Bloom not to be bullied into a sale.
The end result is that Caicedo remains a Brighton player. He will now be expected to return to the Albion and do his best to help secure European football over the next five months before an almost-certain summer departure.
Roberto De Zerbi will no doubt be happy that the Seagulls have retained Caicedo’s services. How pleased he is with the rest of the work done by the Albion is a question many fans have been left pondering.
De Zerbi has not been backwards in coming forwards about what he felt Brighton needed to do in the January 2023 transfer window. And it was not to sign just two teenagers who look unlikely to be ready for Premier League football anytime soon.
Speaking after Brighton beat Liverpool 2-1 in the FA Cup three days before the window slammed shut, De Zerbi said: “I spoke a lot of times with Tony, he knows my opinion very well, because we are a good team but we can improve also from the transfer market window.”
“We lost Trossard and if we lose Caicedo it can be a problem for us if we want to fight for a European spot or to finish high in the table. If we want to stay like this, we can stay but I don’t like.”
“I think if we don’t lose Caicedo we are ready to fight. I am not arrogant to say my team can fight for Europe and the most important thing is the way they improve.”
“In the transfer market, you have the possibility to improve but I think we have a lot of smart players, they can play in different positions, such as Mac Allister, Gross, Veltman, Lallana. When Lallana plays it is better for us, he is a fantastic player. We have to be ready to play without him.”
One addition De Zerbi definitely wanted was a reunion with Shakhtar Donetsk centre back Mykola Matviyenko, who the Albion were said to have bid for but well below Shakhtar’s asking price.
With Brighton now wedded to De Zerbi’s 4-2-3-1, they also look light on numbers in the middle of the park. Caicedo may not be the same player after having his head turn and Adam Lallana is always a strong gust of wind away from an injury.
The departure of Leandro Trossard leaves Brighton weaker in attack too, with the Vampire of Genk being one of three men De Zerbi trusted to lead the line.
He is now down to only Evan Ferguson and Danny Welbeck, one of whom is injured and the other of whom is made of the same glass as Lallana.
So whilst Caicedo remains and the starting XI remains unaltered from the team who went undefeated through January, the overall squad now appears weaker than it was coming into the window.
That need not be a problem if injuries and suspensions do not bite. But if they do, then Brighton could find themselves relying on the likes of Julio Enciso, Andrew Moran and newcomers Yasin Ayari and Facundo Buonanotte before they are ready for top flight football.
With Europe well within Brighton’s grasp and the FA Cup opening up for a club from outside the European Super League Elite 6 to make a real impression on the competition, not getting De Zerbi the reinforcements he wanted looks like a gamble.
All we can do now is hope it pays off and Brighton are not left looking back at the January 2023 transfer window with regret come the end of the campaigh.
Brighton and Hove Albion players in, January 2023:
Yasin Ayari – AIK, £5.2 million
Dubbed the future of Swedish football, 19-year-old midfielder Ayari is already a full international and has a Allsvenskan runners up medal from his time at AIK. Brighton beat a number of Serie A clubs to his signature
Watch him on YouTube (and yes, even Cristian Baz looked good on YouTube) and you see a young player full of confidence who loves a goal from outside the box.
Ayari’s strongest suit would appear to be his versatility. The majority of his AIK appearances have come as a typical central midfielder but he has also been used as a holding player, a number 10 and down both flanks.
Judging by comments made by Albion technical director David Weir, it does not sound like Ayari will be pitched into the first team anytime soon.
Weir told the official Brighton website: “He will need time to settle here and acclimatise to the Premier League, but we are really looking forward to working with him.”
Of course, that could all change if injuries to Mac Allister, Caicedo, Lallana or Gross materialise over the coming weeks and months.
Facundo Buonanotte – Rosario Central, £10 million
Brighton completed the £10 million signing of Buonanotte in November 2022 but seeing as he could not arrive in England until January 2023, he is technically a transfer window signing.
Having previously been linked with the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool, Spurs, Juventus, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, his capture has been viewed as quite the coup for the Albion.
Despite being only 17-years-old, Buonanotte scored four goals and claimed two assists from 34 appearances in the Argentine Primera Division last year, earning comparisons with Lionel Messi from his Rosario Central manager Carlos Tevez.
“When he brakes and accelerates he reminds me of Messi,” Tevez said to Rosario3 after watching Buonanotte star in a 3-1 win over Barracas Central.
“I haven’t seen a boy play like that for a long time, that gives me so much pleasure, and I watch a lot of football. Facu has a great mentality, he doesn’t seem to be 17 years old. He is at a very high level, one thinks that he has no ceiling, it is wherever he wants to go.”
Buonanotte is a number 10 who has the tendency to drift out wide, from where he likes to cut inside and shoot. His work rate and football intelligence have been highlighted for their contribution to the success of the aggressive press Tevez introduced to Rosario following his appointment.
That means Buonanotte should be well suited to the demands of DeZerbiBall – although like Ayari, as one for the future rather than the here-and-now.
Brighton and Hove Albion players out, January 2023:
Leandro Trossard – Arsenal, £27 million
At the age of 28 and with one last big contract left whilst he is in his prime, Leandro Trossard was never likely to sign a new Brighton deal.
His £27 million move to Arsenal was therefore one that suited all parties. The Albion made a tidy profit, Trossard gets the chance to fight for a Premier League title and the Gunners strengthen their squad by signing the top scorer from a club in the top half of the table for a third of the price Chelsea paid for Mykhailo Mudryk.
The only negative was the way Trossard ended his time as a Seagull. Downing tools, throwing his toys out the pram and then scuttling off somewhere on the Eurotunnel in an attempt to force a January 2023 transfer window move away from Brighton was all so unnecessary and soured his achievements in an Albion shirt.
Trossard should have departed with well wishes for the part he played in turning the Seagulls from relegation battlers into a side challenging for Europe.
He should be remembered for scoring the joint-third highest number of top flight goals in Albion history, alongside Neal Maupay and behind only Glenn Murray and Michael Robinson.
Ah well.
Shane Duffy – Fulham, free transfer
With his contract set to expire in the summer, we already knew that Shane Duffy had played his last game for Brighton when he joined Fulham on loan in the summer.
But even so, his permanent departure from the Albion feels like the end of an era. Duffy was a hugely important part of the Brighton team who won promotion to the Premier League, going onto have an even bigger role in keeping the Seagulls in the top flight.
Chris Hughton’s side survived their first two seasons on account of their excellent defensive record, thanks largely to the efforts of Lewis Dunk and Duffy. The Irishman’s contribution was recognised when he was voted Player of the Season at the end of the 2018-19 campaign.
The arrival of Graham Potter saw Duffy phased out during 2019-20 due to questions of his ability on the ball.
It says a lot about his character that he overcame the passing of his father and a nightmare loan at boyhood club Celtic to get back into the Brighton team at the start of the 2021-22 season, doing a dependable job when injuries and illness struck Dan Burn and Joel Veltman.
As well as being a fine footballer, Duffy has also proven himself an excellent bloke. His honesty on social media in a world where footballers are bland and micromanaged has proven a breath of fresh air, as was his approachability when spotted on West Street, in the Grosvenor Casino or watching Celtic in Molly Malone’s.
Duffy departs with a place assured in the Brighton history books and every fan wishing him well for what lies ahead.
Aaron Connolly – Hull City, loan
Might it be third time lucky out on loan for Aaron Connolly, who after disappointing temporary switches to Middlesbrough and Venezia has now been sent to Hull and back?
With Liam Rosenior in charge at the MKM Stadium, Connolly is working under a manager who he previously enjoyed success with in the Albion’s Under 23 squad. If anyone can help Shooshh’s best customer get his career back on track, you would bet on it being Rosenior.
And so far, so good. Connolly scored twice as Hull beat QPR 3-0 at the weekend to secure their first home victory since October. Watch this space.
Brighton & Hove Albion January 2023 transfer window scorecard
Positives:
- Despite the best efforts of Chelsea, Arsenal, his agents, the media and Fabrizio Romano, Moises Caicedo remains a Brighton player
- Securing £27 million for Leandro Trossard represented a decent deal for a player entering the final 18 months of his contract
- Two very highly rated teenagers have been signed and will now doubt bank a very healthy profit when they are sold for a combined one billion pounds to the European Super League Elite Six in 2025
- If Aaron Connolly scores goals at Hull, he could rescue his Brighton career… or somebody might actually pay money for him this summer
Negatives:
- The squad is weaker than it was coming into January
- With European qualification within their grasp and a good chance of doing something memorable in the FA Cup, Brighton have left themselves a couple of injuries away from having to rely on teenagers
