Leicester to Miami: Busy week for the Brighton transfer rumour mill

After a quiet start to the summer transfer window, the Albion rumour mill has suddenly burst into life. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Mats Wieffer, Yankuba Minteh and Diego Gomez have all been linked with Brighton this past week by credible sources when it comes to the Seagulls.

Some of those names may be familiar to Brighton supporters. Certainly the bloke from Leicester City who sounds like a wedding venue rather than a professional footballer.

Others less so. Unless you happen to watch MLS, pay close attention to the Paraguay Under 23s national side or have a liking for Dutch midfielders with lovely curly hair.

So, for the unaware, here is a little bit about each of the four potential new signings and where they might fit into the way Fabian Hurzeler had his St Pauli side play.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall

Brighton first attempted to sign Dewsbury-Hall in January but were unable to strike a deal with Leicester. That was despite the Foxes being in something of a PSR hole.

As an academy graduate, they could have banked £20 million pure profit for the midfielder had they accepted the Albion’s winter bid.

Leicester’s PSR issues mean they are certain to be hit with one if not two points deductions in 2024-25. Consequently, leading bookmakers including WE88 have the Foxes down as odds-on favourites for relegation.

New boss Steve Cooper faces quite the job with prices ranging from 1/2 to 4/5 for Leicester to make an immediate return to the Championship.

Dewsbury-Hall scored 12 times and claimed 14 assists in 2023-24 to help the Foxes to promotion as champions.

The appeal to Brighton of Dewsbury-Hall is therefore obvious. The Albion are light of central midfielders.

Alexis Mac Allister, Moises Caicedo and Adam Lallana have all left in the past 12 months. The future of Pascal Gross and Mahmoud Dahoud remains uncertain.

Dewsbury-Hall would bolster numbers and boost creativity in an area Brighton are short. And the Albion may yet feel they can purchase him for below market value – and certainly less than the £45 million Leicester wanted in January – as the Foxes seek ways to reduce their PSR liability.

Mats Wieffer

Wieffer is the aforementioned Dutchman with curly hair. A holding midfielder, he has made 79 appearances for Feyenoord over the past two seasons. Whilst with the Rotterdam-based giants, Wieffer has won an Eredivisie title and a KNVB Cup.

Feyenoord are said to want £30 million for his services; a fee which has been described as ‘paltry’ by the Dutch media. That reflects his importance at De Kuip.

Wieffer was also becoming an increasingly influential figure for the Netherlands at international, only to miss out on Euro 2024 through injury.

Most interesting from a Brighton perspective is Wieffer’s versatility. Most of his career has been spent in midfield, although he has also been deployed as a centre back.

HurzelerBall at St Pauli involved one of the back three frequently stepping into midfield to act as a third central midfielder.

Having played comfortably in both positions, Wieffer would appear ideally suited to a role which is currently pretty unique in English football.

Yankubu Minteh

Dewsbury-Hall is not the only player Brighton are targeting for PSR-related reasons. Newcastle United want to shift Gambian winger Yankubu Minteh to ease any concerns they might fall foul of the rules.

Minteh arrived at St James’ Park last summer for just under £6 million. He was immediately loaned to Feyenoord, scoring 10 goals and registering six assists.

At only 19-years-old and with bags of potential, the Saudi Sportswashers have slapped a £40 million price tag on his head.

Such a huge profit on their outlay 12 months ago would go a long way to helping their PSR situation.

Newcastle had been hoping to complete any sale by the June 30th deadline for the current accounting period.

Talks were held with Everton but that deal collapsed when no agreement could be made on Dominic Calvert-Lewin going the other way.

Lyon and Marseille have now emerged as potential destinations. Andy Naylor meanwhile has confirmed on Twitter that Brighton have a long-standing interest in the 19-year-old.

Minteh is capable of operating down either wing, although he is at his best playing as left-footed right winger. Hurzeler is a fan of inverted wingers, playing them either side of a central striker at St Pauli.

It would probably take a club-record bid in excess of the £30 million paid for Joao Pedro to land Minteh. Would Brighton be willing to fork out so much for a teenager?

Diego Gomez

Hands up, who thought MLS was nothing more than a retirement home for aging players from Europe? A place where Portland Timbers fans chainsaw a giant log to celebrate every goal and Bradley Wright-Phillips can be a two-time golden boot winner considered one of the greatest players in football history.

Turns out there is now some hot young talent in North America. Or at least that is what the Albion’s famous transfer algorithms are saying.

Brighton have tabled a £7 million bid for Inter Miami midfielder Diego Gomez, who has four goals and three assists in 25 appearances.

He helped Miami lift the MLS League Cup last season, alongside a certain Lionel Messi. Miami have turned down the Albion’s approach but Brighton are expected to go back in with an improved offer.

Parallels will inevitably be drawn between Gomez and Julio Enciso. Both are Paraguayan internationals and both burst onto the scene at Club Libertad.

But whereas Enciso is very much an attacking player, Gomez is more of a natural central midfielder. Like Dewsbury-Hall and Wieffer.

With three of the four players linked to Brighton in the past week fulfilling that role, it looks a position the club are very keen to reinforce – as per Roberto De Zerbi’s wishes last season, ironically.