Roberto De Zerbi wants Brighton to make two more signings
Roberto De Zerbi wants Brighton to make two more new signings before the summer transfer window slams shut next week.
In his normal open and candid manner, De Zerbi revealed his thoughts in his press conference ahead of the Albion hosting West Ham United at the Amex.
De Zerbi had just revealed the disappointing news that Julio Enciso would be out for a long period with a knee injury.
The Paraguayan teenager limped out of training on Tuesday with a suspected meniscus tear, which must be on the more serious side of the scale to rule him out for months rather than weeks.
“Without Julio, I think we need another attacker, and a midfielder because we lost Caicedo,” said De Zerbi. “It’s not fair to speak about other players (at other clubs). We have many options.”
The official Brighton Twitter account posted the quote in full before mysteriously deleting it faster than you can say “Was De Zerbi meant to mention transfers in public?”
Unfortunately for the club, Albion supporters had been keeping more of a beady eye on what was going at this particular press conference than normal for news of Enciso.
The world and his wife therefore saw the tweet before it was made to disappear. Look, WAB even managed to screenshot it for cold, hard evidence.
In a tweet from the pre-West Ham press conference mysteriously deleted by the official Brighton account almost as quickly as it appeared, Roberto De Zerbi suggested he would like two new signings before the transfer window shuts 🤔
Time for MASS HYSTERIA amongst #BHAFC fans pic.twitter.com/h0R5Snfhe4
— We Are Brighton (@wearebrighton) August 25, 2023
Brighton fans have mastered the art of sheer unbridled panic during transfer windows in recent years. But even by those high standards, this summer is proving spectacular for hysteria thanks to Europa League participation and the added workload of playing Thursday nights.
The comments from De Zerbi about wanting two new signings will only add more fuel to the fire – good news for those of us who like watching total meltdowns on social media.
Rumours have swirled since the January transfer window that although De Zerbi admires the Albion’s recruitment model, he wants greater backing and a bigger say in who is signed.
Speaking in April, De Zerbi said: “Data is totally different. I’m getting used to working with algorithms in another way in the transfer market, and I’m getting used to appreciating this way.
“I didn’t know it before. I spent a lot of time studying new players on video but now I understand there is another way to find players.”
“At Sassuolo and Shakhtar it was totally different. I had one of my team who gave me a player’s name and I studied the players, but without numbers, without data, only on video.”
“I believe in myself and I want to watch the player. I want to understand of that player has the right quality, the right characteristics to play for us.”
Brighton have made five additions to their senior squad so far this summer. Joao Pedro, James Milner, Mahmoud Dahoud, Bart Vebruggen and Igor Julio have arrived for around £61 million.
The Albion have bought in £195 million through the sales of Moises Caicedo, Robert Sanchez and Alexis Mac Allister.
Having so much money to burn does not make things easy in the transfer market, however. Other clubs are aware the Albion are cash-rich and will set their asking prices accordingly, knowing Brighton can afford to pay.
That rubs up against Tony Bloom’s cast iron will to only ever do a deal which is to the benefit of Brighton. He would rather miss out on a player than be held to ransom and pay over the odds.
The Albion have been linked with several players in the past few months to fulfil both those positions in which De Zerbi wants new signings.
Ajax reportedly accepted a club-record bid from Brighton for number 10 Mohammed Kudus, only for the club and player to fail to agree terms.
Depending on who and what you now believe, Kudus is heading to either West Ham on bigger wages and with a release clause or Saudi Arabia for some good old fashioned sportswashing.
In terms of Caicedo replacements, Lille midfielder Carlos Baleba has been the subject of serious interest at a cost of £25 million.
There has also been talk of a loan move for Arsenal’s Albert Sambi Lokonga, who spent the second half of last season at Crystal Palace.
We will find out over the coming days whether the injury to Enciso or De Zerbi’s public utterances increase the Albion’s determination to strengthen their squad before September 1st.
