Another week, another story about the Brighton future of Julio Enciso. Since entering the final two years of his current Albion deal, it has become a soap opera rivalling who smashed Cindy Beale over the head with a shovel on Christmas Day EastEnders.
Enciso’s representatives kicked things off in the summer when talking about how their client would soon be making a big-money move.
This despite Enciso making only four starts and five substitute appearances after recovering from a meniscus tear in the second half of the 2023-24 season, contributing a grand total of zero goals and zero assists.
“It’s more than clear that other clubs will follow Enciso and if there is an opportunity, there will be more than one team that wants to sign him,” said his agent Pedro Aldave to South American news outlet Versus.
Following those comments, Enciso played just 84 minutes of Premier League football Over the first four months of the 2024-25 campaign. There multiple occasions when Fabian Hurzeler did not even name Enciso on the bench, culminating in him turning out for Brighton Under 21s against Anderlecht.
Rumours swirled over a January departure, either on loan or permanently. But to Manchester City. That move which Aldave also publicly discussed in the summer of 2023 seemed a million miles away.
Almost as if an agent was getting ideas above their station linking their client with a transfer to the champions based on six weeks as a first team regular and two spectacular goals.
Six games packed into four December weeks, however, saw Enciso come back into the first team picture as Hurzeler rotated. The turnaround in fortunes led to early-January talks over a new Albion contract.
If signed, the club would consider sanctioning a loan move for Enciso to play regular football in the second half of the campaign. Depending on the never ending injury crisis.
But now reports again from Versus say Enciso has no intention of signing a deal. The article which opens with the line: “Apparently the Paraguayan is not very comfortable under the command of German coach Fabian Hurzeler.”
It goes onto reveal: “Enciso’s contract expires in mid-2026 and although Brighton would apparently consider renewing, the striker has no intention of extending the contract, as he sees his future outside the club in a few years. Enciso and his entourage have time until January 31 to decide his future, which could be outside the Premier League.”
So we have big money move to Manchester City in summer 2023. More than one team “clearly” wanting to sign Enciso in summer 2024. Loan move or permanent departure in November 2024. Contract talks in January 2025.
And now Enciso having no intention of signing a new deal with Brighton because he sees his future outside the club in a few years. All of which has been played out in public and through the press.
Can anyone else spot the problem here? Five stories which may or may not have been passed to the media by Enciso’s camps is four more than the number of goals he has scored for the Seagulls over the past two seasons.
If only Enciso put the ball in the back of the net as frequently as his name popped up amongst pointless transfer speculation.
Almost since day one of his arrival at the Albion for £9.5 million in 2022, Enciso – or at least his agent – has been obsessed with the next move in his career. Which somewhat ironically is proving detrimental to his career prospects and getting that big move.
Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona or whoever else Aldave thinks should be bidding £80 million for his client will not be interested unless Enciso starts performing to a high level consistently for Brighton over the remainder of the campaign.
Enciso needs to focus on the here and now. And the here and now is establishing himself in Hurzeler’s starting XI. Then it becomes about scoring goals and claiming assists.
He will stand a better chance of doing that by becoming more of a team player. Not shooting from 30 yards whenever he gets a sight of goal.
That though is a whole different piece for a different time. In any case, the goal Enciso scored against Norwich City to end his 20-month drought should serve as a lesson.
He does not need to twat the ball as hard as possible eight times in 40 minutes. Pick out a corner. Caress it in. And if there is a better option, pass the ball.
Enciso clearly has a lot of talent. Brighton have proven in the past they offer an environment to get the best out of young South American players. Provided those players – like Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo – have the correct attitude whilst they are playing for Brighton.
Caicedo is included there because although he did try and force through a January 2023 move, he knuckled down and got on with playing when it became apparent Brighton would not sell.
The result was four months of world class performances between February and May. The Albion qualifying for the Europa League. And an eventual move to Chelsea for a British-record fee of £115 million.
Mac Allister and Caicedo concentrated on their football and let the rest take care of itself. An approach which worked out pretty well in the end.
Perhaps the reason Enciso is no closer to resolving his Brighton future and has become a bit-part player in the past 12 months is because he and his agents have been too busy looking towards his, er, future.
The mess this approach has caused can only lead to one conclusion. That it is the wrong approach doing Enciso no good at all.
Time for Enciso to concentrate on Brighton and see where that takes him. A lot closer to his dream move to Manchester City than he currently is would be my guess.
