Loan watch: Sima and Undav standout players for Brighton 2024-25 return

As we approach the end of another season, the time comes to look at the army of players Brighton sent out on loan in the 2023-24 campaign.

20 individuals left the Amex for temporary spells elsewhere, covering either the whole or part of the season. Ibrahim Osman takes that total to 21, having signed for £16 million in February but spending the the remainder of the campaign with FC Nordsjaelland.

Inevitably with the number of players involved, the variability of loan experiences and the different standards of football, it is a mixed picture.

Generally though, goalkeepers and strikers have tended to enjoy success with more disappointment amongst defenders and midfielders.

Here is how each player has performed and their chances of breaking into the first team squad for next season.

Brighton players out on loan 2023-24

Brighton loan players – Goalkeepers

WAB recently looked at how the respective loan spells of Carl Rushworth, James Beadle and Kjell Scherpen suggested all three are capable of challenging for a place in the Albion’s first team squad next season.

Rushworth at Swansea City has been statistically the best goalkeeper in the Championship. Beadle did so well in League One at Oxford United that his loan was cancelled so he could move up a division and join Sheffield Wednesday. Scherpen was having a strong season with Sturm Graz in Austria before an ACL operation ended his season in December.

Underlining their potential, all three have signed contract extensions with Brighton in the last 12 months. And all could reasonably expect to be ahead of Jason Steele and Tom McGill in the pecking order if they remain at the Amex next season.

For any to spend 2024-25 sat on the bench as number two to Bart Verbruggen would be to stall their career progression, however. All three may therefore be set for further loans next season.

Defenders

Imari Samuels impressed on the summer tour to the USA. It was a bit of a surprise when he did not get any first team action earlier in the season when every full back was injured.

Instead, he joined Fleetwood Town in January but has struggled for game time in League One. It has been a similar story for Ed Turns, who re-joined Leyton Orient having helped the Os League Two title last season.

Turns was recalled from his second spell at Brisbane Road in January after only making 17 appearances. A return to League Two with Crewe Alexandra has seen him prosper again. Two health scares overshadowed and cut short the loan move of Odel Offiah at Hearts.

All three of Samuels, Turns and Offiah look someway off the first team squad, despite the promise shown earlier in their careers.

Midfielders

Now 25 and nearing the end of his contract, the assumption must be that Steven Alzate is coming to end of this time at Brighton. He has spent the season with Standard Liege in Belgium.

Reports last summer suggested Roberto De Zerbi was considering making Alzate part of the first team squad, but evidently decided against that.

With hindsight, the level of injuries and the lack of impact of Mahmoud Dahoud mean Alzate might have been a useful player to keep around.

Dahoud has been used mainly as a substitute since joining Stuttgart in January, playing just 146 minutes. Albeit arguably because of strong performances by the current incumbents near the top of the Bundesliga.

A future at Brighton looks unlikely for Dahoud, at least while De Zerbi remains manager. The improving Jack Hinchy was preferred on the bench to Dahod in December. Hinchy also headed out on loan the following month, joining League One side Shrewsbury Town.

De Zerbi has been typically forthright with his public opinions on Dahoud, saying: “I have already spoken to him a lot of times, I expect more and more from him. More quality, personality, energy, enthusiasm.”

“I was clear with him. It can be difficult at the beginning in another country. In the end, we are competing at the first level of football and you need time, but football, sometimes, can’t give that time.”

Dahoud was at least signed from Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer, so could yet net a useful profit if anyone wants to sign him permanently this summer.

It has been a mixed season for Yasin Ayari, getting less game time than he and the Albion would have hoped at Coventry City and Blackburn Rovers in the Championship.

Likewise, Jensen Weir has struggled to make the same impact he managed in League One last season with Morecambe at either Blackpool or Port Vale in the same division.

At 20-years-old, time remains on the side of Kacper Kozłowski. His progress though has been slower than expected as he flits between being a starter and substitute for Vitesse Arnhem. Kozłowski is certainly yet to justify his status as one Europe’s most promising young midfielders.

The biggest midfield success story amongst Brighton loan players is easily Marc Leonard at Northampton Town. He has been described as “one of the standout players in League One this season” and is attracting significant interest from the Championship.

A loan to the second tier next season would help the Albion assess whether Leonard can step up to Premier League level. Although if a Championship club makes a bid too good to turn down, Brighton may find themselves deciding to sell.

With no Brighton loan midfielders looking capable of joining the first team squad for 2024-25, it is a position the Albion will surely need to strengthen in the summer transfer window.

A renewed pursuit of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall would therefore make sense, especially given Leicester City’s current PSR-related issues.

Attacking Midfielders

Andy Moran started the season in great form for Championship side Blackburn, even making the Republic of Ireland international team.

Blackburn changed their manager from Jon Dahl Tomasson – who signed Moran and Ayari – to John Eustace in February. Since then, both Moran and Ayari have found themselves spending more time on the bench.

A lack of game time for Cam Peupion at Cheltenham Town was something of a surprise with the Robins struggling at the foot of League One.

Brighton brought Peupion back from the Completely-Suzuki Stadium in January. He went onto make his full Albion debut in the FA Cup fifth round defeat at Wolves.

Wingers

Abdallah Sima has made waves at Rangers, contributing 15 goals and two assists even after missing three months of the season with an injury sustained at AFCON.

Countless articles have been written over whether Rangers can make the move permanent. No option to buy clause was included in the deal.

Speculation currently is Rangers want to keep Sima and he would be happy to stay at Ibrox. Whether they can afford it could hinge on Rangers securing Champions League qualification.

The Albion’s own position on Sima is less clear. He looks most suited to a left wing role. Here, Brighton already have Kaoru Mitoma, Simon Adingra, Julio Enciso and new signing Osman.

Understandably, there is much excitement over Osman. He has followed the same route from the Right to Dream academy to Nordsjaelland as Adingra and West Ham United’s Mohammed Kudus, who Brighton also tried to sign.

Danish journalist Daniel Nojsen described Osman to the BBC as the the “man of the moment”: “He’s by far best as a left winger. That’s where he’s had most of his games where he’s been at his best. He has amazing speed, amazing dribbling ability and he’s very keen to get on the ball.”

“He likes to get into one-on-one situations where he can use his speed and his technical skills. In the game against FC Copenhagen he was more like a striker making them look like some Sunday league team.”

“He has a lot of things to develop still. But the things he is good at, he is really, really good at and I understand why many teams would love to have him on board. I think Brighton will see a very, very special player.”

Another left wing option is Jeremy Sarmiento. He had an initial injury-affected spell at West Bromwich Albion before joining promotion chasing Ipswich Town in January.

Whether he makes a permanent move to Portman Road is likely to depend on whether the Tractor Boys are promoted to the Premier League.

18-year-old right winger Adrian Mazilu joined Brighton in January from Romanian champions Farul Constanta. He was immediately sent out to join Kozlowski on loan at Vitesse.

Mazilu has struggled for game time in the Netherlands even after scoring a couple of worldies. He seems certain to be one of the players sent on loan again by Brighton in 2024-25.

Strikers

When Brighton injuries were at their peak, the Albion could have made use of Sima, Sarmiento and in particular Deniz Undav.

The striker has spent the season with Stuttgart, enjoying the greatest year of his career so far. Two Bundesliga Player of the Month awards. A debut for Germany. 16 goals. Eight assists. Undav has undoubtedly been the best of the Brighton players out on loan in 2023-24.

So, what happens now? De Zerbi has said Undav will return to the Amex for 2024-25. This position has been challenged by Stuttgart manager Sebastian Hoeness.

What we do know is Stuttgart have a right to buy clause. Complicating the matter is that it is apparently based on where they finish in the Bundesliga.

If Sttuttgart qualify for the Champions League, the price they will have to pay jumps from a rumoured £12 million to £18 million.

It is unlikely they could afford that. Undav is now in the position where by scoring goals for Stuttgart, he makes himself unaffordable to his temporary employers.

18-year-old Bailey Smith is a long way down the pecking order for a first team place. He spent the first few months of the season at National League South side Worthing, making 13 appearances before re-joining the PL2 squad in January.

Peter Finn