Goals, goals, goals: The transformation of the Brighton forward line

For what feels like an eternity, every transfer window involving Brighton & Hove Albion has been dominated by one issue above all else – signing a striker.

The Seagulls have done just that already this summer, purchasing Joao Pedro for a club-record fee of £30 million from Watford. But even before his arrival, the need for forward reinforcements had seemed less pressing than before.

This is partly down to Roberto De Zerbi unlocking goals from players whose contributions previously were more limited.

Solly March is the clearest example, going from three goals and four assists in 81 appearances under Graham Potter to seven goals and seven assists in 27 matches with De Zerbi as manager.

Adam Lallana found the net more regularly before his season-ending injury in January. Kaoru Mitoma, Julio Enciso and Evan Ferguson have all emerged under De Zerbi and Deniz Undav found his feet in the Premier League towards the end of the campaign.

With De Zerbi having boosted the output of players already in his first team squad, it is exciting to imagine what he could do once he works with some of the young forwards who have been out on loan from Brighton since his appointment at the Amex Stadium.

The following tables show the apparent strength in depth the Albion enjoy, both across last season’s senior and Under 21s squads and those who spent 2022-23 elsewhere.

 

 

Despite the Brighton forward line looking stronger than it has for many years, the Albion continue to be linked with a number of incoming players.

Santiago Gimenez is the most intriguing. The 21-year-old Mexican scored 17 goals in 36 matches for Feyenoord as they won the Eredivisie, also contributing three assists.

Rumours also suggest Brighton are interested in two 19-year-old forwards from the continent. London-born former Chelsea academy prospect Samuel Iling-Junior is currently in the first team squad at Juventus and Luis Semedo is reportedly set to be out of contract at Benfica soon.

23-year-old Arsenal forward Reiss Nelson has long been linked with Brighton, but having rejected two contract offers from the Gunners he now appears likely to stay at the Emirates by accepting a third.

Carlos Alcaraz will seek a move from Southampton following their relegation from the Premier League. The 20-year-old Argentine can play as a midfielder or striker and missed the Saints’ best opportunity in their 3-1 defeat at the Amex last month.

Finally, there is 23-year-old Moroccan international winger Zakaria Aboukhlal. He scored 13 goals and made five assists from 39 matches with Ligue 1 side Toulouse last season.

But with £30 million already spent on Pedro, rather than further signings the emphasis may be more on the potential impact and involvement of other players on the fringe.

Simon Adringa is the most noteworthy, but it also conceivable that Abdallah Sima, Andi Zeqiri, Reda Khadra and even Aaron Connolly could all yet make an impact.

What De Zerbi opts to do with Julio Enciso and Pedro next season in terms of whether they play centrally or as wingers will surely inform any decisions made on those waiting in reserve.

Given the impact Enciso had from the left against Wolves and Aston Villa, it was perhaps surprising to hear De Zerbi’s say after the Aston Villa defeat: “Julio Enciso is not a winger. He can play there but he is not a real winger.”

Pedro meanwhile can play anywhere across the front line, as a striker, winger or number 10. He joined joined Watford from Fluminese in January 2020 and scored 24 goals in 109 Watford appearances before his big money move to Brighton.

Adringa has been earning rave reviews in Belgium. The 21-year-old signed for Brighton from Danish club Nordsjaelland for £6 million in July 2022, after which he was loaned to Union Saint-Gilloise to replace Mitoma.

Mainly used on the left wing, Adringa scored 10 goals and contributed 12 assists in 46 appearances. According to 90min, his form has reportedly attracted interest from clubs in Germany and France.

However, current expectation is that he will be a part of De Zerbi’s first team squad in 2023-24. Union teammate Christian Burgess is quoted on the Brighton website as saying: “I think Simon has a big chance to do well in the Premier League. He is a terrific talent, has a lot of ability. He has got goals for us this season and has tremendous pace.”

Facundo Buonanotte has already been given several opportunities since his January arrival from Rosario Central for £9 million. The 18-year-old Argentinian came with a ringing endorsement from his Rosario manager Carlos Tevez.

“I watch football and it’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone play who gives me as much pleasure as Buonanotte,” Tevez said. “When he brakes and accelerates, he reminds me of Messi. He is at a very high level.”

Watch Buonanotte’s highlight reel on YouTube and you see 11 minutes of exactly that, with Buanonotte gliding past players generally from an attacking midfield position.

Brighton fans saw glimpses of that ability in the 1-1 draw against Manchester City, when Buonanotte was arguably covering out of position on the wing.

Injury has meant Jeremy Sarmiento has almost become the forgotten man. The 20-year-old winger was vying with Enciso to be the next young South American to be given a starting opportunity when he unfortunately fractured his metatarsal on international duty with Ecuador. If Sarmiento can remain injury free, he looks ready to make the same impact as Enciso.

21-year-old Senegalese international Sima joined Brighton in 2021 from Slavia Prague for around £7 million on a four-year deal.

He immediately joined Stoke City on loan, but with injury setbacks made only four appearances at the Bet365 Stadium during the 2021-22 season.

Sima has spent 2022-23 as a right winger or centre forward on loan with struggling Angers, who finished bottom of Ligue 1. Sima made 33 appearances with five goals and one assist.

Cam Peupion was rewarded for six goals, three assists and his naming as Premier League 2 Player of the Month in April with his Premier League debut away at Newcastle United.

It would seem more likely that the versatile 20-year-old Australian will head out on loan next season rather than being a part of De Zerbi’s squad, along with the equally talented Andrew Moran.

Zeqiri is presumably behind most of the players already mentioned and with just one year left on his Brighton contract, it seems likely that he will leave.

That is what his agent, Michel Urscheler, expects to happen anyway. Urscheler has been quoted as saying: “There is a high probability that we will close the Brighton chapter.”

And yet Zeqiri has shone on loan with Basel in Switzerland. 14 goals in 40 appearances – including a run to the Europa Conference League semi-final – has enabled the 23-year-old to show he could be a valuable squad player for Brighton next season, especially with additional Europa League games.

Zeqiri found himself left out towards the end of the season as Basel indicated they could not and would not meet the price stipulated in the compulsory purchase clause in his loan, which would have been triggered by a certain number of games.

Basel are though hoping to negotiate a cheaper price with the Albion, with sporting director Heiko Vogel stating his club are “still in talks at the moment” regarding a deal for Zeqiri.

Like Zeqiri, Connolly only has one year left on his Brighton deal. His Albion career seems likely to end in another case of what might have been… or could conceivable still be?

If De Zerbi could have the same effect on Connolly’s finishing as he has had with Solly March, then a Premier League player might yet emerge.

After two goals on his full Premier League debut against Spurs, it sometimes looked as if Connolly could have run his very own Miss of the Season competition.

Yet Connolly had looked a top class finisher in the Under 21s for Brighton, to the point he was named PL2 Player of the Season 2018-19 with a considerably better scoring record at that level than Ferguson. Combine Connolly’s speed with that finishing ability and you might still have a useful squad player.

 

Connolly’s latest loan at Hull City turned in to another bad luck story. He made a great start, scoring twice against QPR and his manager and former Brighton player Liam Rosenior indicated he was keen to make the move permanent.

Unfortunately, Connolly was injured soon after and missed the final 15 games of the season. Rosenior said at the end of the campaign: “We need to recruit players that are robust enough for the Championship, and that’s top of my list at the moment.” Those comments do not bode well for Connolly.

Another player to have finished the season on loan in the Championship is Reda Khadra. The 21-year-old German winger joined Brighton from Borussia Dortmund in 2020 and has since been sent on a series of spells in the second tier.

He spent 2021-22 at Blackburn Rovers and the first half of 2022-23 with Sheffield United. Brighton recalled Khadra from Bramall Lane in January and sent him to Birmingham City due to a lack of game time.

Reports on Khadra consistently praise exciting play going forwards but question his defensive and team play, something which De Zerbi will need to work on if the winger is to make it with the Albion.

Birmingham manager John Eustace said at one point: “Khadra is very dangerous going forward. He has got a lot to learn defensively, but he’s very honest and his performance today with the ball was very good.”

Breaking in to the Brighton squad with the players listed above is a hard task for the other young players at the club.

From those in the Under 21s squad not mentioned already, 18-year-old Irish striker Mark O’Mahoney looks the most likely to make an impression. He joined Brighton in January 2023 from Cork City.

In conclusion, the noise in all previous transfer windows that Brighton need to sign another striker has disappeared with DeZerbiBall turning the Albion into one of the top scoring Premier League sides.

The manager himself told Sussex Live: “In terms of attackers we have to analyse the situation. Ferguson, Welbeck, Pedro will play with us next year.”

“Lallana is still a crucial player for us and for me and we have to analyse the situation. I am happy with the performances of Undav. He is a good player, a good guy but at the moment we have not spoken about attackers.”

With Pedro and Adringa, a hopefully fully fit Sarmiento and potentially Sima to bolster the squad next season, that analysis may conclude Brighton do not need new forwards.

Continued improvement from Ferguson, Buonanotte and Undav leaves the attacking positions well covered. It seems that despite their differing but clear strengths, Zeqiri, Connolly and Khadra may be most likely to leave the club.

Footnotes to previous articles

It is a fast moving situation at the end of the season. Again with the clear rider that there may or may not be any truth in transfer rumours, since my earlier articles on goalkeeping, defensive and midfield options, the following have taken place:

Goalkeepers
Tom McGill has signed a new two-year contract with an option of a further year. It is reported that 21-year-old American Brian Schwake – at the end of his contract with Livingston – spent a week on trial with the club, but with no news on the outcome. Brighton have also been linked with 24 year old Hertha BSC and Denmark international Oliver Christensen.

Defenders
Whilst there is no news to date on agreeing a new contract with Joel Veltman, De Zerbi has insisted he will “100 percent be a Brighton player next season.”

The club will presumably activate the one-year option in his deal, despite reported interest from other top European clubs.

Brighton have had a £30 million bid turned down by Chelsea for Levi Colwill and are said to be preparing a £40 million offer in response.

The Albion were said to be interested in left sided defender Calvin Bassey when he moved from Rangers to Ajax for £19 million in 2022. Bassey has lost his place in the Ajax side and reports suggest Brighton may look to take advantage of that situation.

Haydon Roberts and Antef Tsongui have both confirmed they will be leaving the Albion when their contracts end this summer.

Reports have stated that Brighton are vying with Arsenal and others for 22-year-old French right back Sacha Boey, currently with Galatasaray. From a development perspective, the Albion are battling with Newcastle and others for 17-year-old Celtic left back Mitchel Frame.

Midfielder
Again awaiting confirmation, but reports state that 27-year-old Dortmund midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud has agreed a four year contract with Brighton.

The Albion are reported as one of the four clubs interested in 20-year-old midfielder Diego Gómez, a Paraguayan international currently with Club Libertad.

Peter Finn