Be honest, who struggled to keep up with what Brighton were doing through the summer 2024 transfer window? Nine new players arrived at a cost of £193 million, making the Albion the biggest net spenders in Europe.
Alex Crook revealed as long ago as February in his talkSPORT transfer notebook that Tony Bloom was planning an ambitious summer in an attempt to make the Seagulls regular challengers for Europe.
But nobody could have predicted the summer 2024 transfer splurge Brighton would go on. Not least Roberto De Zerbi, who must be looking on from the south of France with some jalousie over all the shiny new toys Bloom has given Fabian Hurzeler to play with.
Being something of an egomaniac, De Zerbi will probably at least take some satisfaction that he has been listened to in one area.
The former Albion head coach said in March the board needed to learn lessons from the 2023-24 season. His implication being the squad was not deep enough to cope with Europa League football.
It was also De Zerbi’s not-so-subtle way of saying Brighton could not afford to keep selling players like Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo without suitably replacing them.
And here we are. Six months later. A mind boggling amount spent, giving Hurzeler a squad which looks capable of pushing for the top eight.
Excitement and expectations have been ramped up, maybe to a level never seen before. Deep breath… here is our Brighton summer 2024 transfer window round up.
Brighton & Hove Albion players in, summer 2024 transfer window:
Georginio Rutter – £40 million, The Leeds United
The Albion smashed their transfer record when activating a £40 million release clause to bring in Georginio Rutter from 1996 Coca Cola Cup runners up The Leeds United.
It seems like a huge fee for a forward who only scored eight times in the Championship last season. But we also said the same thing 12 months ago when Joao Pedro cost £30 million after managing 11 goals for Watford. And that didn’t work out too badly.
In any case, Rutter has become an instant WAB favourite based on the fact he owns several racehorses. Not only that, but these horses apparently have Instagram and TikTok accounts.
I am already looking forward to bumping into Rutter on a Monday afternoon at Lingfield, half-cut on brandy and discussing whether Bopedro has what it takes to win at Royal Ascot one day in the future.
Yankubu Minteh – £30 million, Newcastle United
Brighton enjoyed such spending power in the 2024 summer transfer window thanks to Bloom’s mastery of profit and sustainability rules.
Other Premier League clubs could not buy due to sailing close to the wind in terms of allowed losses. Some even had to sell players they did not want to part with in order to bank profit and avoid potential points deductions.
The latter scenario resulted in the Albion landing Yankubu Minteh for £30 million from Newcastle United. Having scored 10 and assisted six goals from the wing on loan at Feyenoord last season, Toon fans were looking forward to seeing Minteh unleashed on English football in black and white.
But the Saudi Sportswashers had a big hole in their finances. Minteh became the player sacrificed to fill it. And Newcastle’s loss has very much been Brighton’s gain so far.
Mats Wieffer – £25 million, Feyenoord
Minteh is not the only player who impressed for Feyenoord last season to join Brighton in the summer 2024 transfer window. Mats Wieffer made the move direct from De Kuip.
Wieffer is a defensive midfield also capable of doing a job at centre back. He initially looked tailor-made for the libero role in the 3-4-3 formation Hurzeler used at St Pauli, where a midfielder played in the centre of the back three with instructions to drive forward and create overloads.
But with Hurzeler sticking to 4-2-3-1 so far, the need for such a player has reduced. Wieffer has instead found himself starting as one of the two holding midfielders… when fit.
The pace and intensity of the Premier League seems to have caught him by surprise so far. But with most Dutch football fans convinced Wieffer is worth more than the £25 million Brighton paid, there is plenty to be optimistic about.
Brajan Gruda – £25 million, Mainz
Brajan Gruda is yet to be seen in a Brighton shirt nearly a month after his £25 million capture from Mainz. Much will be expected of the German Under 21 international though when he does make his bow after being heavily linked with Bayern Munich and Liverpool.
Gruda is capable of playing both out wide and through the middle. He made 28 appearances for Mainz last season, registering four goals and three assists to help Die Nullfünfer avoid relegation from the Bundesliga.
The 20-year-old ended the campaign in such good form that Julian Nagelsmann was considering calling Gruda into his Germany squad for Euro 2024.
Ferdi Kadioglu – £25 million, Fenerbahce
Ferdi Kadoioglu made an instant impression by being unveiled to the Amex wearing a cream suit, as if he were about to embark on a great continental railway journey with Michael Portillo.
Footballing wise, Kadioglu is the ultimate utility player. He is versatile enough to play right back, left back, defensive midfield, as a box-to-box midfielder, right wing, left wing, number 10 or as a second striker. In that regard, he is the perfect Brighton signing.
Like De Zerbi and Glow Up Graham Potter before him, Hurzeler likes footballers who can cover multiple positions. Answering the question of where Kadioglu will slot in most regularly is impossible, although the Albion allowing Valentin Barco to join Sevilla on loan suggests left back.
Kadioglu had been on the radar of Manchester United before Brighton finally managed to thrash out a deal worth £25 million with Fenerbahce. Like Gruda, we are yet to see Kadioglu in an Albion shirt because of injury, the Turkish international picking up a knock in training 72 hours after signing.
Matt O’Riley – £25 million, Celtic
Kadioglu at least managed to last longer without getting injured than Matt O’Riley. The midfielder was left needing ankle surgery 24 hours after completing a £25 million move from Celtic after being crunched by Crawley Town captain Jay Williams.
It was a big blow for the 23-year-old, whose rise to the Premier League has been rapid. O’Riley scored 10 goals in 54 appearances for MK Dons over a calendar year between January 2021 and January 2022, earning a £1.5 million move to Celtic Park.
O’Riley subsequently won three SPL titles with Celtic, two Scottish Cups and one League Cup. His overall record in green and white hoops read 27 goals and 35 assists from 124 matches, whilst he also captained the club despite his tender years.
Hurzeler loved an all-action, box-to-box, goal scoring midfielder at St Pauli. O’Riley has been brought in to fulfil that role, although it may be many months before he gets the opportunity thanks to Crawley’s League Cup crime wave.
Ibrahim Osman – £17 million, FC Nordsjaelland
Does Ibrahim Osman count as a Brighton summer 2024 transfer window signing? Good question. The £17 million deal bringing the winger from FC Nordsjaelland to Sussex was actually struck and announced in February, just after the January window slammed shut.
Osman spent the remainder of the 2023-24 campaign in Denmark before linking up with the Albion for pre-season. The main reason for naming him a summer acquisition seems to be boosting Brighton’s total spend close to £200 million.
When the signing of Osman was completed, most Albion supporters assumed he would be introduced to the first team even though he is only 19-years-old. Brighton would surely not spend £17 million on a player, only to then loan him out?
Well, we have apparently now reached the point where Brighton will spend £17 million on a player and then loan him out. Osman will turn out for Feyenoord in the 2024-25 campaign.
Malick Yalcouye – £6 million, IFK Gothenburg
It is easy to forget Malick Yalcouye in amongst all the other signings Brighton have made in the summer 2024 transfer window. The teenage midfielder arrived for £6 million from Swedish outfit IFK Gothenburg.
Hailed a Malian wonderkid, the Albion have bought in Yalcouye off the back of only 14 appearances for IFK. He has been compared to N’Golo Kante as a diminutive central midfielder with a low centre of gravity who reads the game well.
Yalcouye received his fair share of minutes through pre-season and with Brighton looking a little light in the middle of the park, it would not have been a surprise to see him remain at the Amex for 2024-25.
He has instead though moved to Sturm Graz. Brighton have a good relationship with the Austrian club, who have also taken Kjell Scherpen on loan in the past two seasons.
Amario Cozier-Duberry – free transfer, Arsenal
A whole host of clubs wanted to take Amario Cozier-Duberry off Arsenal this summer. The Albion’s track record of developing young players and handing them Premier League opportunities saw the winger opt for the Amex.
Brighton will have to pay compensation for Cozier-Duberry. But that will pale into insignificance compared to his potential resale value if he lives up to the hype of being the next Bukayo Saka.
Arsenal Under 18s boss Jack Wilshere first made the comparison. Albion supporters saw the likeness themselves when Cozier-Dubbery shone during the summer tour of Japan.
With Brighton having signed approximately 72 other wingers this summer, Cozier-Duberry will spend the season with Blackburn Rovers.
Brighton & Hove Albion players out, summer 2024 transfer window:
Deniz Undav – £25 million, Stuttgart
The long-running Deniz Undav transfer saga was finally put to bed when Brighton accepted a £25 million bid from Stuttgart.
Undav enjoyed a sensational 2023-24 season on loan at the MHP Arena. His 18 goals and 10 assists from 30 matches helped Stuttgart to runners up spot in the Bundesliga, earned Undav an international debut and a place in Germany’s Euro 2024 squad.
With his heart set on a permanent move away from the lacklustre kebabs and sausages of England, there seemed little prospect of Brighton holding onto Undav – even after Hurzeler made it clear he wanted to keep the striker.
To extract such a mega fee for a player who only played 923 minutes of competitive football for the Albion has been hailed as a stroke of genius by some fans.
For others, the question now remains unanswered of whether Undav could have hit 18 goals in the Premier League – and where that could have taken Brighton.
Billy Gilmour – £12 million, Napoli
Another long-running summer 2024 transfer saga came to a close with just hours to go until the window slammed shut when Billy Gilmour finally sealed a £12 move to Napoli.
Gilmour had asked to be allowed to join the Serie A giants on several occasions. Even so, it is a deal which plenty of Seagulls supporters have struggled to get their heads around.
With Wieffer, Gruda and O’Riley all injured, the Albion look awfully light in the middle of the park. Gilmour further underlined his worth and talent with a fantastic display in the 2-1 win over Manchester United.
Why then sell? The most likely explanation is Hurzeler was not a big fan, owing to his penchant for box-to-box, goal scoring midfielders. Doesn’t make it any less bizarre, mind.
Pascal Gross – £6 million, Borussia Dortmund
Nope, this one still hurts too much to talk about.
Marc Leonard – £500,000, Birmingham City
A few years ago and Marc Leonard might have held reasonable expectations of breaking into the Brighton first team.
Two stellar seasons on loan with Northampton Town in League Two and League One saw him deliver performances reminiscent of a lower division Caicedo.
Such is the quality of player the Albion now possess, however, that Leonard finds himself sold to big spending League One promotion favourites Birmingham City.
The Blues paid £500,000 to take Leonard to St Andrews. It will be interesting to see how his career pans out from here, with a Premier League return not out of the question one day.
Mahmoud Dahoud, Free transfer, Eintracht Frankfurt
14 matches. One assist. A total head loss red card. The Streets will never forget Mahmoud Dahoud in a Brighton shirt.
We were very excited when the Albion signed a player described by the German media as having “a terrible moustache” on a free transfer from Borussia Dortmund last summer.
Sadly, Dahoud’s spell at the Amex was so short that he did not even have enough to grow said moustache.
Packed off on loan to Stuttgart in January, Dahoud moved to Eintracht Frankfurt for free on the final day of the transfer window.
Kacper Kozlowski – Undisclosed, Gaziantep
Next time you get excited about a teenager based on a YouTube video or him being on the Golden Boy List, stop and think of Kacper Kozlowski.
Signed amidst much fanfare for £9 million from Pogon Szczecin in January 2022, Kozlowski still had two years left on his Brighton contract and at 20-years-old was young enough to still develop and improve.
Yet the Albion have cut their losses and sold Kozlowsk to Turkish side Gaziantep. We say sold in the loosest possible terms; the likelihood being that although Brighton have called the fee undisclosed, it is likely to be a free like Dahoud.
Kozlowski departs having not played a single minute of Premier League football for Brighton.
Adam Lallana – Free transfer, Southampton
It seems like a very long time ago since Adam Lallana announced he would be leaving Brighton when his contract expired. The veteran midfielder wanted to spend more time with his family in Hampshire whilst at the same time squeezing a few more years out of his playing career.
That meant Lallana was either signing for Southampton or Plucky Little Bournemouth. It was soon confirmed a return to St Mary’s was on the cards.
The heroes farewell Lallana received at the Amex when substituted during the final match of the 2023-24 season against Manchester United always seemed a little odd.
This was a bloke who made 104 appearances over four seasons and was handsomely paid for spending vast periods of time injured.
It appears even more ridiculous when you consider Gross – an actual club legend – left without any sort of goodbye a couple of months later.
Jensen Weir – Undisclosed, Wigan Athletic
Jensen Weir returns to Wigan Athletic three years after Brighton paid the Latics £500,000 to bring him to the Amex.
Half a million quid is spare change to the Albion these days. For Wigan though, the fee helped keep them alive by paying player wages at a time when the club were in administration.
Having pulled up no trees on loan in League One at Morecambe, Port Vale, Blackpool and Cambridge United, his permanent departure is hardly a surprise.
We would qualify it as good business all round though for the role the transfer played in saving Wigan.
