Brighton sign Paraguay wonderkid Julio Enciso for £10 million
Watching the Paraguayan version of Loose Women was not how Albion fans expected to spend their Thursday night. It was though where the news broke that Brighton had completed the signing of 18-year-old wonderkid Julio Enciso for a fee of £10 million from Libertad Asuncion.
Enciso was seen speaking live to the panel from a sunny Brighton Marina alongside his representatives, complete with an Albion shirt on the table in front of him.
Every new signing announcement Brighton make from this point on is going to feel like a disappointment, unless Alison Hammond is the one breaking the news that Danny Ings has arrived from Aston Villa or Ruth Langsford reveals Michy Batshuayi is on his way to the Amex from Chelsea.
And one can only imagine the reaction at the Albion, when a club who try and keep a tight grip on what the media do and do not report found their first new signing of summer had been revealed on a Paraguayan mid-morning gossip show.
This is the sort of nonsense that makes Julio Enciso a popular player at WAB Towers before he has even kicked a ball in a Brighton shirt.
The good news is that he would appear to have footballing ability almost as exciting as his taste in daytime television.
Enciso is a forward capable of playing anywhere across the front line, providing the sort of versatility that Graham Potter values.
He has spent most of his career so far playing as a second striker or number 10, although he can also do a job out on the right or as a false nine.
The closest comparison in the Albion’s current squad would appear to be Leandro Trossard. Enciso’s arrival might therefore soften the blow slightly if the Vampire of Genk were to be sold this summer, although that seems unlikely with Yves Bissouma heading out the door to Spurs and Bald Pep desperate to take Marc Cucurella to Manchester City.
Enciso made his debut for Libertad aged only 15 in 2019. He has scored 21 goals and assisted a further eight in 68 appearances over the subsequent three years, a good record for a player who only turned 18 in January.
He made his international debut for Paraguay in June 2021 at 17 and now has five caps to his name. Like Moises Caicedo before him, Enciso is one of the most highly rated young players in South America.
And just as with Caicedo, Brighton have had to cut through a web of third party ownership issues to secure his services.
An £8 million deal fell through in January but Brighton would not be deterred and they have now secured their man for a fee which makes Enciso the most expensive Paraguayan player of all time. He has signed a contract through until 2026.
Manchester City and Arsenal were both keen on Enciso, but the Albion’s expertise in South American transfer dealings gave them the edge.
Brighton have confirmed that Enciso will go straight into the first team squad, subject to international clearance.
British Work Permits for foreign footballers seem much easier to come by these days, a Brexit benefit which nearly makes up for crippling inflation, chaos at the border and Northern Ireland being an utter shitshow.
Despite all the hype surrounding Enciso, Brighton fans would do well to remember that he is a teenager coming to a foreign country where he does not speak the language.
His emotional family bidding him farewell at the airport as he headed to the other side of the world was a reminder of that, similar to the scenes when Caicedo left Ecuador.
It will take Enciso some time to adjust and make an impact, as we saw with Caicedo. It was 15 months between the midfielder arriving in January 2021 and his Premier League debut as Brighton won 2-1 at Arsenal in April 2022.
Caicedo has proven to be well worth the wait, to the point where Bissouma’s impending departure does not seem like a massive issue for Brighton.
If Julio Enciso proves to be as good a signing as Caicedo, then the future for Brighton looks even brighter. These are exciting times and not just for viewers of Paraguayan Loose Women.
