Will Brighton be forced into an unwanted squad rebuild this summer?

The summer 2022 transfer window is a mere few months from opening. It could be a busy one for Brighton, who might find themselves forced into a squad rebuild as no less than five first choice players enter the final year of their contracts.

Yves Bissouma. Alexis Mac Allister. Neal Maupay. Joel Veltman. Leandro Trossard. Unless they sign fresh deals, then the summer represents the Albion’s last opportunity to secure some sort of fee for their services.

Come January 2023, the five will be able to talk to clubs outside of England about a free transfer. Six months later and they could walk away from Brighton for absolutely nothing.

With the Albion having just announced losses for the 2020-21 season of £53.4 million, the club cannot consider allowing players who cost a combined £60 million to walk away on free transfers.

Bissouma seems certain to be sold. His agent is seemingly rubbing his hands with glee at the prospect of any buying club paying a vastly reduced fee on the £50 million they might have expected to a year ago.

Aston Villa had a £35 million bid turned down in January but if they come back with a similar offer, Brighton surely have to accept second time around.

The £15 million that Villa save on Bissouma’s true value can then be put towards a juicy signing on bonus to line the pocket of player and agent.

Hardly a surprise that Bissouma has not signed a new deal with those sorts of riches lying in wait, is it?

Brighton fans have become so fixated on the Bissouma situation that it had almost gone unnoticed just how many other first choice players are out-of-contract in the same summer – and what that could mean in terms of a squad rebuild once the current season finishes.

Trossard spoke about his own contract entering its final year in an interview with Le Soir whilst on international duty with Belgium.

When asked about his future at the Amex, the Vampire of Genk said: “I’ll listen to the offers, but I don’t necessarily want to leave. Brighton is also a very good club.” A diplomatic answer, if ever there was one.

Trossard had been linked with a move to Barcelona back in the autumn, when he was one of the major factors in Brighton challenging for a top eight spot.

That shows the sort of regard his talent is held in by some of the biggest clubs on the continent, even if his form has tailed off during the Albion’s six game losing streak.

If Barca – or any other club for that matter – were to come in for Trossard this summer, could Brighton say no? The Albion would have to try and secure something for a saleable asset who they paid £17 million for three summers ago.

Maupay arrived for an even more significant outlay of £20 million. Although some fans remain critical of his sometimes wayward finishing, by the end of the 2021-22 season he will have finished as Brighton top scorer in three consecutive Premier League campaigns.

He remains the Albion’s only reliable source of goals. Take away the nine he has notched so far and the Seagulls would have seven less points, leaving them just four clear of the relegation zone in 16th spot.

And yet he is another player who might have to be sold this summer if no new deal is signed. For a side who score nowhere near enough, failing to secure the future of a player who has contributed nearly 40 percent of your goals over the past three seasons is a potentially massive problem.

Mac Allister has shown his talent in patches, most notably around the turn of the year when Graham Potter belatedly gave him a run in the side.

His brace in a first ever Brighton win at Everton was one of the best individual performances of the campaign so far.

And yet Potter still does not seem to trust him to start week in, week out. At the age of 23, he might be looking to secure a move to a club where he plays regular first team football as an alternative to extending his stay with Brighton.

If that is the case, then the Albion have to cash in this summer to avoid losing a player who looks capable of becoming a mainstay of the Argentine national team in years to come.

Brighton have struggled in defence following the departures of Ben White and Dan Burn. To have to sell another experienced, proven Premier League performer in Joel Veltman would further weaken an area of the pitch which was once the Albion’s strongest suit.

Having spent only £900,000 on Veltman, he might be a player whose contract Brighton are happy to allow to run down. At 30, he offers little resale value anyway compared to Bissouma, Trossard, Maupay and Mac Allister, all of whom are yet to hit their prime.

The Albion appear to be taking a similar approach with Pascal Gross, whose contract expires this summer. Brighton have had exceedingly good value from a bloke who cost £3 million ahead of the club’s debut Premier League season.

Gross still has something to offer. He remains Brighton’s most creative outlet, having made 50 chances at a higher rate per game than any other Albion player of 2.08.

Potter though seems to have been phasing him out since Christmas. At 30, Gross deserves to spend the last few years of his career playing regular first team football.

If he is unlikely to get that at Brighton after signing a new contract to take him beyond the summer, then the club will no doubt allow him to leave. A return to Germany would seem likely.

Throw a departure for Gross into the mix and you have another first team player potentially exiting the Amex this summer.

Should six leave Brighton, then suddenly Potter faces a squad rebuild rather than the minor additions – such as the mythical striker – most Albion fans would have been expecting ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.

Rather than investing £30 million in a couple of new signings to supplement the existing roster, Brighton might need to make four or five acquisitions just to replace those who have had to be sold due to their contract situation.

Some will point to the army of players that the Seagulls have out on loan as Brighton already possessing replacements should a flash sale be necessary.

Jan Paul van Hecke for Veltman. Moises Caicedo for Bissouma. Kacper Kozlowski for Gross. Taylor Richards for Mac Allister. Kaoru Mitoma (work permit depending) for Trossard. Deniz Undav for Maupay.

To chuck so many young and inexperienced players into the deep end of Premier League football in a new-look team would be a risk, however – especially when Potter is working with a squad already considered to be the best Brighton have ever had.

Why rip it up and start again when the first half of this season have shown that we are potentially one or two individuals away from something special?

It is unusual for the well-oiled machine that is the modern-day Albion to have put themselves in a position whereby so many key players are all about to enter their final year. Uncertainty and the disruption that can bring is not something you associate Brighton with in the Tony Bloom era.

Normally, at least one or two extensions would have been announced by now. Lord knows the Albion could do with some good news after the past six weeks.

And what better to help lift the doom and gloom around the Amex than a new contract announcement in the coming days?

Trossard, Maupay or Mac Allister committing to the club would help to dampen those rumours that something is not quite right behind the scenes, causing the Albion to lose every week.

Most importantly of all, new deals for any of the expiring six would help to prevent a squad rebuild for Brighton this summer. The Seagulls need evolution, not revolution forced through player sales.