Davy Propper signs new three-and-a-half year contract with Brighton

Good news ladies and gents. Handsome bastard Davy Propper has signed a new three-and-half-year contract with Brighton which will keep him at the Amex until the summer of 2023.

The Dutch midfielder became the Albion’s record signing when he signed from PSV Eindhoven for £9 million (The Argus and Andy Naylor understand the fee to be substantially less that what is being quoted in the media) in the summer of 2017. Since then, when he’s been one of the first names on the team sheet.

It isn’t hard to see why. Propper sees things that no other Brighton player does. He is a smooth and silky operator who makes football seem easy. And he’s bloody good looking too.

There haven’t been many players in Brighton history who have played a pass so good that people still talk about it a year down the line.

Propper seems to do that at least three times a season, the best of which came with that stunning outside of the boot lofted ball into the box which Pascal Gross scored from in last season’s 2-1 defeat at Manchester United.

He was at it again at the London Stadium on Saturday, sending Leandro Trossard scampering away in the first half with a stunning through ball. On that occasion, Trossard unfortunately fluffed his lines when confronted with West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.

No lesser judge than Marco van Basten said in a November interview that Propper was on a par with Frenkie de Jong, the Dutch wonder kid who cost Barcelona a meagre £75 million in the summer.

It’s noticeable that whenever Davy Propper has a good game, Brighton have a good game – and that’s why tying him down to a new contract is so important.

When Propper is below par, then it seems to impact on the whole team – none more so than in the second half of last season when he struggled for form following Chris Hughton’s move to a three man midfield.

Some fans cite Propper’s inconsistencies as a reason not to rate him. There are also valid questions about his scoring rate, with only two goals in 97 appearances for the club.

The weird thing about that is it isn’t like he’s missed a hatful of chances either, he just doesn’t seem to find himself in goal scoring situations.

That’s in stark contrast to his strike rate for the Netherlands, which stands at a half-decent three goals from 19 caps. He also scored 43 times in the Eredivise in 201 appearances for hometown team Vitesse Arnhem and PSV Eindhoven, with whom he won the Dutch title in 2016.

Having said that, if Propper was more consistent and added goals to his game, then he’d be playing for a much bigger club than the Albion.

It’s no secret that Ajax were seriously considering a bid for Propper last summer. The Dutch giants viewed him as the perfect replaced for Barca-bound de Jong and sent scouts to the Amex to have him watched on several occasions.

Nothing came of that, but that’s not to say that other clubs won’t come sniffing again. Davy Propper signing a new Brighton contract will strengthen the Albion’s hand when it comes to any future negotiations.

Getting a deal signed now is good news for Propper, too. His current contract had been due to expire in 2021 and with a big summer of football ahead with the Netherlands one of the favourites to make an impression at Euro 2020, the last thing Propper would have wanted is to go into the tournament with question marks hanging over his domestic future.

Propper also appears extremely settled in England. On signing his new deal, he told the official Albion website, “The last two-and-a-half years have gone quickly. My daughter is three and is almost English now! It is nice to see how they find their way in a new city and a new country”.

“It’s been great so far and it’s why I am happy to stay”. We’re bloody happy to have you, Davy.