Tony Bloom – CaughtOffside

Exclusive: Brighton beat off significant competition to sign exciting young talent

Jason Pettigrove — Sat, 06 Jul 2024 05:58:21 +0000

Brighton and Hove Albion have rightly been lauded for their transfer business over the past few seasons.

Though the Seagulls have still sold on some of their best players, they’ve done so at a huge profit which has allowed them to strengthen elsewhere.

Developing young players has become their forte, and that perhaps explains why the Premier League outfit have agreed a deal for Gothenburg’s 18-year-old player Malick Junior Yalcouye.

Brighton agree deal for Malick Junior Yalcouye

CaughtOffside sources with knowledge of the deal recognised that both Bayern Munich and Manchester United were two of the first teams to be monitoring the player’s movements, though an official offer from the two European giants wasn’t forthcoming.

Similarly, Anderlecht and PSV Eindhoven registered an interest but nothing more.

Gent, Ajax and Brentford’s interest in Malick Junior Yalcouye was more concrete, but all three have been beaten to the punch by Brighton.

It’s understood that the club will pay €10m for his services, and he will be offered a five-year contract.

Brighton directors had been impressed by the Ivory Coast player’s abilities but were waiting for a new coach to be unveiled before making their move.

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With Fabian Hurzeler having been secured as Roberto De Zerbi’s replacement, the young German is readying himself for his first pre-season in English football, and he’ll now be able to call upon the services of Malick Junior Yalcouye as needed.

It remains an exciting time for a club that continue to exceed all expectations, and it will be interesting to see if the Hurzeler experiment is as successful as those of Graham Potter and De Zerbi.

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Exclusive: Brighton are brave to appoint Hurzeler but it’s a good idea – Romano

Jason Pettigrove — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 06:30:00 +0000

As a football fan of any club, you have to admire the way that Brighton and Hove Albion continue to do things.

After all, it was only 13 years ago that the club were still playing their matches at Withdean Stadium, a venue built for athletics and only one stand that wasn’t temporary.

Under chairman, Tony Bloom, the Seagulls continue to take risks, but to now at least, that bravery has paid off.

Patience required with Hurzeler appointment

It therefore is completely in keeping with their business model that the club should choose St. Pauli’s 31-year-old Fabian Hurzeler as the man to replace Roberto De Zerbi.

The decision might have raised a few eyebrows, but Fabrizio Romano is impressed.

“The appointment of Fabian Hurzeler is a brave one, absolutely,” he said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive Daily Briefing.

“Of course there’s risk but it’s Brighton style, to go for talented and young people. I think it’s good idea to follow their plans, their style.

“Hurzeler did excellent at St Pauli so he has all the possibility and potential to shine also in Premier League. Patience will be needed, of course.”

It’s worth pointing out of course that Hurzeler, once appointed, will be seven years younger than his midfielder, James Milner.

On the face of it that could cause problems, however, if the American can garner similar success to that which he has managed at St. Pauli, there’ll be no issues.

Leading the club back to the Bundesliga deserves the plaudits, and given that he has all of the necessary coaching qualifications in place, the feeling is that it will be his strength of personality in the dressing room that will ultimately dictate how well the club do in the immediate future.

If he’s able to hit the ground running and get points on the board quickly, so much the better.

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“A really, really positive move” – Collymore lauds Brighton for their new appointment

Jason Pettigrove — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 08:47:51 +0000

Although it’s yet to be officially announced, Brighton and Hove Albion’s appointment of 31-year-old Fabian Hurzeler as their new first-team manager appears to be garnering the plaudits.

Currently still the manager of German outfit, St. Pauli, whom he led to promotion to the Bundesliga, the American would be seven years younger than the Seagulls experienced midfielder, James Milner, if his appointment is rubber stamped.

Given Brighton’s record in attracting left-field names into the dugout – Graham Potter and Roberto De Zerbi being the two most recent – it can’t be said that they won’t have done their homework.

Hurzeler might not be a household name outside of Germany as yet, but the same low key approach worked with both Potter and De Zerbi.

Brighton’s appointment of Hurzeler gets the thumbs up from Collymore

The club’s recruitment both on and off the pitch has been shown to be spot on, so one can assume that as and when Hurzeler is unveiled, he will hit the ground running in the Premier League.

Former English top-flight marksman, Stan Collymore, certainly believes it’s a good decision by the South Coast outfit.

“Graham Potter effectively took a Swedish club into European competition, whilst Roberto De Zerbi was in charge at Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk before heading to Brighton,” he said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive column.

“I think what Brighton have is quite an incredible ecosystem whereby the structure is very good, their recruitment is very good and their style of play is nailed on. You know that Brighton are going to get the ball down and they’re going to be productive.

“Both of those seemingly left-field appointments worked, but the hire of Fabian Hurzeler, however, is a gamble.

“Mitoma was a gamble at £2m, but you’d be looking at £50m-£60m to sign him this summer, injuries notwithstanding. That was risky, but we accept gambles and risks are part of the game where players are concerned, and weirdly not with managers.

“A lot will be made that he’s seven or eight years younger than James Milner, but players know who the manager is. Players know who the head coach is and with that kind of youth and enthusiasm comes a lot of training ground minutes, and a relaxing experience in the structure around him.

“I think it’s a really, really positive move. A massive appointment but for me it’s only the same risk and gamble as any player if it doesn’t work.

“If it does work, it will break the mould for clubs hanging on to 50 to 70 year olds like Roy Hodgson. Clubs will say why do we need that experience when we’ve got a 31 year old here whose still got 20 to 30 years left in management.

“He could break two glass ceilings in that there will be less reverse ageism in football in terms of management, and he can dictate that if you are American, you’re no longer seen as a Ted Lasso type who can’t be successful in English football. Good luck to him.”

Though age should be no barrier to success, it will be very interesting indeed to see how the more experienced members of the squad react to having someone so young on the bench, even when taking into account his relative success of the past couple of seasons.

If he’s able to get results from the get go and through the strength of his personality let everyone know who’s boss, it’ll be clear from the off that Hurzeler isn’t a man to be messed with, and Brighton might well have struck gold again.

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Surprising twist sees Brighton hold talks with highly-regarded 49-year-old

Jason Pettigrove — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 08:04:49 +0000

The Roberto De Zerbi era is over at Brighton and Hove Albion, but it appears as if the Seagulls are taking their time over the next managerial appointment.

Italian, De Zerbi, took Brighton to new heights after taking over from Graham Potter when he left to take on an ill-fated position at Chelsea.

Sacked soon after because of a series of disappointing performances and results, Potter has been out of work since.

Brighton looking at Graham Potter return

It’s believed that he is still in the frame for the Man United job, but that all depends on whether Sir Jim Ratcliffe decides to sack Erik ten Hag or not.

The longer that there is no announcement, the more that there’s a belief that the Dutchman will be granted a stay of execution, meaning that Potter would lose out on re-starting his career at Old Trafford.

That could even be a reason why, according to The Guardian (subscription required), Potter has held talks with his old employers at the AMEX Stadium.

Graham Potter could be a target for Brighton

The outlet also note that Brighton aren’t going to rush into anything at present, though the fact that they’ve tested the waters with their former manager would suggest that he’s definitely in the mix when Tony Bloom and the board are ready to make their new managerial appointment.

Though a Potter return might not necessarily please all supporters of the club, at least they and the powers that be will know exactly what they’re getting from the 49-year-old.

Under him the Seagulls played hugely attractive football and they were a tough side to beat. De Zerbi simply carried on where Potter left off.

The next few weeks are likely to be crucial for the club, and all should become clear well in advance of pre-season.

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Barcelona ace’s agent could be instrumental in Premier League switch

Jason Pettigrove — Fri, 24 May 2024 09:45:12 +0000

It appears to be all change once again at Barcelona this summer.

The Catalan giants have struggled under Xavi Hernandez this season, and though the former legendary midfielder had only recently agreed to stay on at the club after previously indicating he would leave, it now seems as if he will be sacked by president, Joan Laporta, after the final game of the season.

Regardless of whether that happens or he is given a stay of execution, one player that will not be in the first team next season is out-of-favour striker, Ansu Fati.

Barcelona’s Ansu Fati could be on his way to the Midlands

Once seemingly touted as the natural replacement for Lionel Messi, Fati’s star began to wane as injuries took their toll and his form and confidence began to suffer.

A loan spell at Brighton last season should’ve been the springboard for the player – who is still only 21 years of age – to relaunch his career.

However, more injury concerns and a less than satisfactory performance in front of goal (four goals in 27 appearances per WhoScored) was always going to ensure that Roberto De Zerbi, before he decided to leave himself, wasn’t going to take up a purchase option on the front man.

Barcelona loanee Ansu Fati in action for Brighton and Hove Albion.

With Barcelona clearly looking elsewhere for their striking options, Fati has little choice other than to move on again.

According to Fichajes, both Sevilla and Valencia are interested in taking the player back to La Liga, which they note is his preference, but his agent, Jorge Mendes, may have other ideas.

The outlet say that Wolverhampton Wanderers, where Mendes is believed to wield considerable influence, could well be Ansu Fati’s next playing destination.

It could be said to be a huge surprise when the youngster pitched up at the Amex Stadium at the start of last season, but surely a move to the unfashionable Midlands-based side would trump even that move.

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Barcelona loanee Ansu Fati appears to have already made a decision on his future

Jason Pettigrove — Sat, 18 Nov 2023 11:48:19 +0000

Ansu Fati has really been enjoying himself of late at Brighton and Hove Albion, and is beginning to recapture the form that made him a breakout star at Barcelona.

The youngster is really beginning to find his groove with the Seagulls, and as WhoScored note, he has three goals, an assist and a man-of-the-match award in his last six games.

If he continues finding the back of the net for the Premier League outfit, Roberto De Zerbi would surely be keen to make his loan arrangement from the Catalan giants more permanent.

Ever since he suffered a serious knee injury which really stunted his progress, it’s been a long, hard road back to fitness for Fati, though he’s playing with a smile on his face again and that’s important.

Brighton have helped him to get his mojo back, and it hindsight, it was probably the best decision that Ansu and his representatives could’ve made.

However, his south coast sojourn would seem to be fleeting at best.

That’s because, according to Sport, the player wants to return to Barcelona at the end of the current season and prove his worth at the club.

The outlet go on to say that Fati believes he’s a better option coming in from the left side than Xavi has there currently.

Given he could likely make Barca a pretty penny in transfer fees, it’ll be a strong negotiation between all parties at the end of 2023/24, if Barca’s views don’t align with those of Fati and his representatives.

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