Brighton sign Romanian winger Adrian Mazilu for £2.5m

Another one of European football’s hottest young properties is heading to the Amex with Brighton completing the £2.5 million signing of 17-year-old Romanian winger Adrian Mazilu from Farul Constanta.

Mazilu will remain with Farul for another six months of SuperLiga football under the watchful eye of Gheorghe Hagi before moving to the Amex in the January 2024 transfer window.

The Albion have been tracking Mazilu for some time, beating off Spurs and Crystal Palace (LOL) for his signature.

Roberto De Zerbi will have been particularly keen on the teenager, given Mazilu has spent his brief senior career so far playing on the right as a left-footed inverted winger.

Watch Mazilu and you see a player who likes to run at opponents with pace. He displays good close control, can dribble out of tight spaces and cuts inside as often as possible to get a shot away or create an opportunity for a teammate.

If that all sounds rather like a certain Kaoru Mitoma, then it is because the two seem remarkably similar. With Simon Adringa now a part of the first team squad, Brighton appear to be building up a pool of inverted wingers below Mitoma and Solly March in the pecking order to suit De Zerbi’s 4-2-3-1.

What is particularly striking about Mazilu is how strong he is. He stands 6’1 and already knows the best way to use his frame and strength to avoid being knocked off the ball.

Whereas the biggest challenge for the likes of Julio Enciso and Facundo Buonanotte has been adapting the physicality of the Premier League, Mazilu looks like you could drop him straight in and he would cope.

Mazilu made his debut for Farul in a 2-0 Romanian Cup win over Rapid Bucharest in November, marking the occasion with a goal. His SuperLiga debut came as a substitute against Chindia Targoviste three days later.

It would be another three months before Mazilu made his first league start. He did not need long to make an impression, opening the scoring with only six minutes played to set Farul on their way to a 2-1 victory at home to CS U Craiova.

Mazilu ended the season with seven goals and one assist from 23 appearances in all competitions. That form saw him picked for the European Under 21s Championship this summer, although his game time in Georgia was limited and he played only 34 minutes as Romania were eliminated at the group stage.

As well as Spurs and Palace, Italian clubs Roma, Fiorentina and Bologna were all said to be interested in signing Mazilu, reflecting his standing as one of the brightest prospects to come through the vaunted Farul academy.

Haji had initially set up his own team in 2009, Viitorul Constanța, to promote the best young talents in Romania. This proved to be an overwhelming success, with Haji’s Kids as they became known rising through three divisions to be crowned Romanian champions in 2017 and Cupa Romaniei winners in 2019.

In 2021, Viitorul merged with the long-established side from Constanta, Farul. Haji took over as Farul manager and the academy came with him, offering opportunities to the likes of Mazilu.

The merger ended up being a good move as 2022-23 saw Farul win their first ever SuperLiga title, giving Mazilu a champions medal before his 18th birthday.

Adrian Mazilu and Farul could yet find themselves in the Europa League alongside Brighton, should they lose in either of the second or third qualifying rounds for the Champions League.

The opportunity of playing in Europe is presumably one of the reasons why Mazilu has been allowed to stay in Romania for the next six months.

Brighton took a similar approach when delaying the arrivals of Jakub Moder and Michal Karbownik from Lech Poznan and Legia Warsaw respectively in 2020.

Mazilu is not the first player the Albion have brought in from Constanta. Tudor Baluta was signed amid much fanfare in the January 2019 transfer window but failed to make the grade in England.

He was released by Brighton last summer, returning to Farul and becoming an integral part of their title winning side with an impressive haul of six goals in 32 appearances from a defensive midfield role.

For Baluta to shine so bright in Romania having struggled at Brighton shows the challenge Adrian Mazilu faces when he arrives at the Amex.

There is one major difference between the two, however. Baluta never really had a defined role with the Albion; Graham Potter and his coaching staff appeared unable to figure out if he was a midfielder or a centre back and that lack of consistency along with injury problems had an impact.

Mazilu in contrast has been signed looking a very clear fit for De Zerbi’s formation and style of play. And with De Zerbi more willing to throw in young players than Potter was, there is every chance that Mazilu will live up to the excitement surrounding his capture.

Watch this space.