**With the 2025-26 Premier League season now under a month away, the pundits, betting sites and supercomputers are so far largely agreed that Brighton will not be challenging for the top five come May. They do though all think the Albion are likely again to finish in the top half of the table.** This in itself should not be dismissed. You only need to go back five seasons to find those same summer predictions putting us firmly in the relegation fight. And they weren’t wrong. The fact Brighton are now seen as an established top 10 side is testament to the vision, investment and management of Tony Bloom and Paul Barber. And the succession planning both on and off the pitch that has enabled the club to weather big-name departures whilst going from strength to strength. But after last season our ambitions must surely be greater. Something reflected in quotes from several players in pre-season training, referencing a top five finish as being the goal. It would have taken only three or four 2024-25 results going from draws to wins for us to have been in Champions League contention. Despite by far the worst injury totals in the Premier League. So how are things shaping up for the 2025-26 campaign? Headline transfer business both in and hopefully out looks largely done. Fabian Hurzeler said this week: “I hope there won’t be any more significant outs.” I don’t think Hürzeler would set himself up for a fall if either Carlos Baleba or Kaoru Mitoma were subject to serious interest from other clubs at this point. Baleba perhaps will be firmly in the sights of Chelsea next summer, once he is more of a “finished article”. Mitoma is, at the time of writing, still an Albion player despite rumour and counter rumour over recent weeks. There seems broad agreement that his continued presence will be key to any Champions League push. I would go as far as to argue his particular combination of abilities is irreplaceable. The winter window presents a risk though. That is not to say Albion’s forward options aren’t strong or would be devestated if Mitoma were to leave. Georginio Rutter, Danny Welbeck, Yankuba Minteh and Brajan Gruda are joined by Stefanos Tzimas, Charalampos Kostoulas and Tom Watson to offset the departure of Joao Pedro on the shuttle bus to Stamford Bridge. The Brighton defence has been significantly strengthened with the arrivals of Maxim De Cuyper, Diego Coppola and Olivier Boscagli. Plus the imminent return of Ferdi Kadioglu. Pervis Estupinian is still with the squad despite speculation he is a wantaway. Whether the addition of De Cuyper is enough to provide cover and options at left back remains to be seen. This focus on defensive additions has fuelled speculation Hurzeler is planning to switch to the fluid 3-4-3 setup he used at St Pauli, as detailed on this site last week. It is likely that with the acquisition of even more versatile players this summer, we will see formations switch at dizzying speed during matches this season in an attempt to outwit opposition coaches. Whether that enables us to break down the low blocks by bottom five sides that cost us crucial points last season is perhaps a key question. Talking of bottom five sides, having sealed the fate of Ange Postecoglu in the final game of last season by completing the double over Spurs, I would be surprised if they weren’t back in the top eight this season under Thomas Frank as the aforementioned pundits predict. In contrast to an improved Spurs, Manchester United – a lowly 16th back in May – seem set to experience more of the same decline under the same leadership. There have been few signings – save Matheus Cunha from Wolves – to raise optimism amongst the Old Trafford faithful. Let us hope we can again settle down to witness anguished frustration from Mark Goldbridge et al on the watchalong compilations following the two games against Brighton again this season. Will Manchester City return to title contention in Pep Guardiola’s penultimate season? Probably. Liverpool and Arsenal will almost certainly be in the mix. Chelsea now have a coach and a squad (half of it developed, seasoned and honed at Brighton’s Lancing training ground) to be in the mix too. Saudi-bankrolled Newcastle are expected to cement their place in the new “Rich Eight”. 2024-25 was arguably the most open season for years in both league and cup competitions. Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa qualifying for Europe. Newcastle and, erm, someone else winning the FA Cup. It may not be repeated in terms of the Big Six not taking those Premier League places and cup silverware this season. That is not to say that the fight for places from around 13 up to fifth or sixth won’t again be fierce. With Albion in the thick of it. An unprecedented eight Premier League teams will be playing additional games in Europe. Whilst not a novel experience for any bar Palace and Forest, the extra workload is a factor which might help in the Albion’s favour if margins in that mid-table group are right. Who knows if changes in key personnel at clubs like Brentford and Forest will take them out of contention for the top six? What kind of season will Fulham, Bournemouth and Everton have? We can make assumptions that Leeds, Sunderland and Burnley will make the return trip to the Championship – as has been the case in the past two seasons. I would hope at least one of the promoted teams stay up. Seeing Sunderland survive at the expense of United would really shake up the football establishment. Particularly if Simon Adingra shines for the Black Cats. The goal for Brighton this season must be to prove the Rich Eight cannot simply buy success with bottomless funds for transfers and wages. And in the case of City, an ability to swerve punishment for multiple breaches of financial fair play regulations. Pre season games against Wycombe, Stoke, Las Palmas, Southampton and Wolfsburg are unlikely to be a serious indicator of results in the Albion’s opening Premier League games. With what are usually two completely different starting XIs per half, they are much more of a chance to size up the new signings. As well as assessing who looks sharp from the ranks of returning loanees. Yasin Ayari provided a taste in Japan of what was to come from him last season. I will be looking at Malick Yalcouye to see if he is indeed the 2025-26 breakout star I predict. However, it is possible he will go on loan to Ipswich or a Bundesliga side to continue his development, according to _Inside Futbol_. Goteborg’s sporting director said when Brighton signed Yalcouye from them that he was “clearly better than Lucas Bergvall.” Something the Mali-born midfielder proved last season helping Sturm Graz to the Austrian title. For development squad players, new signings and former loanees, pre-season it is all about staking a claim for a place in the squad and starting line-up. Whilst also avoiding injury that means others make the position their own through August and September. Brighton are playing football again, and the new season will be here in just four weeks. As Mister Fabrizio Romano is fond of saying, here we go… **_Warren Morgan_** @warrenmorgan __ Share __ Tweet __ Pin it __ Share __ Share __ Share

**Brighton look likely to say _arrivederci_ to Evan Ferguson for the 2025-26 campaign at least as the Irish forward looks set to join Roma on a season long loan.** The deal is expected to include a £40 million option for the the Italian giants to make the move permanent come next summer. This will not be an obligation-to-buy, as was the case with Valentin Barco. But if Ferguson does indeed get his career back on track at Stadio Olimpico, it offers Roma the opportunity to take advantage of their role in helping him do so by presenting a striker touted as a £100 million player just two summers ago for less than half that. Brighton currently value Ferguson at around £30 million according to most reports. So they would consider £40 million a good deal right now. Whether that remains the case if he scores 30 goals in Serie A remains to be seen. You would expect there to be some sort of mechanism in the buy clause whereby the Albion can extract more from Roma if Ferguson does indeed prove a roaring hit in Italy. Similar to the way that Deniz Undav ended up costing Stuttgart the best part of £28 million when his loan was turned into a permanent deal 12 months ago. Tony Bloom has not made millions through gambling, poker tables and online casino for no reason. He nearly-always gets the better hand and secures the best deal possible. Ferguson will hopefully be no different. The ideal scenario most Albion fans would like to see is Ferguson rediscovering the form he showed when bursting onto the scene under Roberto De Zerbi. He set a series of Premier League records through 2023, including tying with Wayne Rooney for most Premier League goals scored by a teenager in a calendar year since _Sky Sports_ invented football in 1992. You do not equal someone like Rooney – or score a top flight hat-trick against Champions League qualifiers Newcastle United – without being a decent player. Ferguson was no flash in the pan like a certain other teenage striker from the Republic of Ireland who scored twice on his full top flight debut. And then did little else other than become a regular in _Shooshh_ and make a series of appearances in the gossip pages of tabloid newspapers. But there can be no doubting Ferguson has lost his way a bit on the pitch. One Premier League goal in 18 months tells half the story. The other half comes from a niggling ankle injury Ferguson had for most of the second half of the 2023-24 season before eventually undergoing surgery. He has never really looked the same since; not helped by Fabian Hurzeler barely using him through the first half of last season. Despite Brighton being so short of out-and-out centre forwards that Adam Webster came off the bench as an emergency striker at one point. Ferguson joining West Ham in January always seemed like a strange move. After 30 months of xG nightmares when Graham Potter was Albion boss, you might have thought Brighton would know that Glow Up is a manager who doesn’t get the best out of strikers. Why therefore think Ferguson was going to rediscover his scoring touch under a head coach whose teams struggle for goals, as De Zerbi highlighted by instantly improving the output of players like Solly March, Adam Lallana, Danny Welbeck and even Ferguson himself? Roma will present an entirely different challenge for Evan Ferguson. It will not be a manager with an xG millstone around their neck but rather the pressure which comes with playing for one of the biggest clubs in football-mad Italy. According to former Albion midfielder Richie Towell (remember him?!), it says a lot about the mentality of Ferguson that he is willing to take that challenge on. Speaking on the _RTÉ Soccer Podcast_ , Towell said: “If he does make the move, it probably tells you a little bit about his personality as well.” “Listen, everybody knows that footballers have egos but it’s different having an ego and having the courage then to go and be like, ‘I can go to Roma and be a success’. So it will tell a little bit about him as well.” If Ferguson does move to Stadio Olimpico, he will be playing under a new boss in the Roma hotseat. Gian Piero Gasperini has just made the move to Rome from Atalanta, where he spent nine years transforming the club from relegation candidates to regular challengers at the top of Serie A. Gasperini led Atalanta to five Champions League qualifications and two Coppa Italia finals. His crowning glory came in 2023-24, when Atalanta won the Europa League by beating Bundesliga invincibles Bayer Leverkusen. His force of personality is similar to a certain De Zerbi. Given that Ferguson enjoyed the best form of his Brighton career under the fiery Italian, that may be no bad thing should he respond to Gasperini in the same style. Gasperini also uses a formation which looks like it can suit Ferguson, playing with one central target man striker through the middle. The exact role Ferguson thrived in playing in De Zerbi’s 4-2-3-1. But one he slipped down the pecking order under Hurzeler for, behind Welbeck, Joao Pedro and Georginio Rutter. Brighton have since added Stefanos Tzimas and Charalampos Kostoulas to their attacking options. Evan Ferguson therefore looks certain to play more first team football at Roma this season. And a change in scenery under a different manager might be just what he needs. Brighton will hope so anyway. There is a good player in there somewhere. A successful loan in Serie A could net the Albion £40 million if Roma opt to turn the deal permanent. Boost his sale value to another club next summer. Or it might even convince Hurzeler to give him another chance at Brighton in 2026-27. __ Share __ Tweet __ Pin it __ Share __ Share __ Share

**Simon Adingra has completed a £21 million transfer from Brighton to Sunderland in a deal which is good news for all three parties.** The Albion bank a significant profit on the £6 million they paid to FC Nordsjaelland to sign Adingra in the summer of 2022. Sunderland get a talented player with two seasons of Premier League experience under his belt to bolster their squad ahead of a first Premier League campaign since 2016-17. And Adingra should get the first team football he needs at this stage of his career following a hit-and-miss 18 months in a Brighton shirt. That poor form had seen the Ivorian winger come in for his fair share of criticism from Seagulls supporters. But to label Adingra crap or a failure is to ignore how good he was at times under Roberto De Zerbi. There is a talented player there. One who probably needs regular minutes down the left flank to get back on track. Something he was never going to get at the Amex all the while a certain Kaoru Mitoma remains a Seagull. Adingra followed a similar path to Sussex as Mitoma. Just like the Japanese Bullet Train, he was packed off to Union Saint-Gilloise after signing for Brighton for a season long loan. Whilst in Belgium, Adingra registered 14 goals and 15 assists for Union. Better numbers than Mitoma during his own year in the Jupiler League. Hopes were therefore high over what Adingra could offer the Albion when he came into the first team squad for the 2023-24 campaign. Scoring on his Brighton debut as Luton Town were thrashed 4-1 at the Amex was a good start. It was the first of seven goals Adingra would notch in all competitions during his first season as an Albion player, alongside three assists. Easily his best display in a Brighton shirt came when the Seagulls visited the Johan Cruyff Arena to face the mighty Ajax in the Europa League. The Dutch giants could not contain the youthful, fearless exuberance of Adingra and Ansu Fati. Adingra teed up Fati for the opening goal. Roles were then reversed for the clincher with Fati turning provider for Adingra – earning both players a place in the Albion history books for their starring role on one of Brighton’s greatest nights. Adingra made more history a couple of months later, becoming the first Seagull to win AFCON. Having rushed back from injury to make it into the Ivory Coast squad for their home tournament, Adingra played a starring role in helping the Elephants be crowned champions. He set up both goals in the 2-1 final victory over Nigeria, earning the man-of-the-match accolade in the process. Having also struck a 90th minute equaliser as Ivory Coast snuck through the quarter finals via an extra time victory over Mali with only 10 men, Adingra was also named Young Player of the Tournament. Although Adingra would undoubtedly feel being pitched into AFCON before perhaps fully recovered from injury was worth it because Ivory Coast won the tournament, you can trace the moment his Brighton form went downhill to his return to England. His first game back for the Albion saw Adingra score twice at Sheffield United. But he failed to register another goal or assist over the remaining four months of the 2023-24 campaign. That despite Adingra getting a run of games down his stronger left flank due to Mitoma being ruled out with a season ending back injury. The 2024-25 campaign under Hurzeler brought just two Premier League goals and two assists. His best performances came against lower league opponents and weakened Premier League sides in the Carabao Cup, where he scored three in three matches. As the games and months have ticked by since Adingra last netted against Aston Villa in December, it has become increasingly clear he could benefit from a change of scenery. Some Albion supporters who had not been so quick to write Adingra off felt a loan spell would help. Brighton though have decided to cash in, accepting £21 million. Adingra at his best is worth much more than that. Adingra based on his form since AFCON is worth nowhere near that amount. The challenge now falls to Sunderland to help Adingra revitalise his career. Fingers crossed they can. He was a good servant to Brighton who delivered some memorable moments over his 73 games in a Seagulls shirt. __ Share __ Tweet __ Pin it __ Share __ Share __ Share

**For many fans, one of the most anticipated days of the football calendar is when the team you support release their new shirt for the upcoming season.** Supporters eagerly await to see the shirts their players will be donning for the next nine months. And in many cases, a piece of clothing fans will spend £70 or more on without any hesitation. Almost as exciting as the new shirt reveal is reading the reaction to it. Cheers or jeers? Subjects of debate include colour, design, symmetry, fit. And if you a Brighton fan discussing any Albion kit, whether a technical partner other than Nike might do a better job. Here is what Seagulls supporters think about the Brighton 2025-26 home shirt – along with my own personal rating. ## Brighton 2025-26 home shirt – simple and traditional The Albion tend to keep it simple when it comes to designing a new home shirt. Many clubs do. The likes of Real Madrid, Ajax, AC Milan and Liverpool all stick to their traditional, famous colours and a familiar design. For Brighton, that is blue and stripes. Some may call it boring or too similar to previous kits. My opinion is that 2025-26 Brighton home kit looks sleek, smart and easy on the eye. There are some changes. The Nike swoosh is hyper-turq, really jumping out at you. There is also an underarm stripe in the same colour. I think this looks really nice. It breaks up the blue and white, adding something a little difference. The collar is designed to blend into the shirt rather than stand out and that works well too. Nike have also tried something a bit different with the stripes. They are larger and thicker compared to last season. Along with blue sleeves, it makes the shirt much bluer than the 2024-25 home shirt. The stripes are no longer symmetrical either with those below the American Express sponsors panel not lining up with what is above it. This has proven the major talking point over the Brighton 2025-26 home kit. It will certainly trigger some fans’ OCD. Personally, I think it looks fine. My only criticism comes with the sponsor logo. It looks too small and does not suitably fill the gap between the stripes. There is just a little too much empty space either side for my liking. ## The announcement video It was not just the shirt which was well designed. The announcement video shared on social media also caught the eye and was superbly put together. This was a break from the norm. Brighton have tended to accompany a kit release with a dull and boring launch video, lacking creativity and missing uniqueness. There has rarely been anything there to convince fans to part with £70 of their hard earned cash to own the new shirt. Instead seeming to rely on blind loyalty to the club. 2025-26 though has proven completely different. I may even go as far as saying the club knocked it out of the park. The release video was oozing with Brightonness (yes, I made that adjective up) and featured so much of what the club and city are all about. We saw the Palace Pier in all its glory. The wonderful Amex Stadium which many of us call our second home. There were residents and business owners talking about Brighton; from the Flour Pot Bakery to Bardley’s Fish & Chips to Donatello. Fabian Hurzeler, Georginio Rutter and Yankubu Minteh all made an appearance. Club captain Lewis Dunk finished things off, saying to the camera “We Are Brighton”. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? ## Brighton fan reaction to the 2025-26 home kit You can probably tell that I am a fan of both the 2025-26 Brighton home kit and the announcement video which accompanied it. But as I mentioned earlier, differing opinions are part and parcel of new shirt launch. And there are no right or wrong answers with football shirts being subjective. I think of them as being like graffiti. Some think it is vandalism. Others thing it is art. Some might think the unsymmetrical stripes on the 2025-26 Brighton home kit vandalism. Others might think it art. To get a broad range of opinions on the new shirt, I asked Seagulls supporters on Twitter what they thought about the design. Here are some of the answers: “It does seem a bit bolder than last seasons. It reminds me of some of the shirts from several seasons ago, and even further back than that. So it’s a bit nostalgic too for me.” – _Daniel_ “7/10. I wish the back was different. Either all blue instead of white or more stripes. Otherwise pretty good.” – _Wally_ “Very nice. Gives off a very strong look.” – _Smithy_ “I like it. Good enough… but Nike are unlikely to ever make a stunner.” – _Kevin Barry_ “It is a nice shirt to be honest. Probably needs a collar to tie it off though.” – _H_ “I quite like it. It is a Nike kit though, so I think for them it’s as good as we’re gonna get.” – _Simballs_ “I like it!” – _Travis_ “I like it. I would prefer a little bit of a change though having had very similar kits for a few seasons now.” – _Tony Wade_ “It’s fine.” – _Albion Navigator_ “It’s sort of Marmite. Kinda? But like only sort of. Like you either hate it or you’re chill with it. They did commit a sin by making the top and bottom stripes not line up.” – _Kai-Ana_ “The mad thing with shirts… if we have our best season ever in it will live in the history of legend. If we struggle it will be quickly forgotten now matter how good or bad it is.” – _Ash Bradley_ “Very boring. I imagine this one won’t sell as much as they hope.” – _HurzelerHater_ “Bland, unoriginal, typically Nike. Can’t wait to be rid of them to be honest.” – _Tom_ “Good idea but poorly executed overall.” – _YourAverageBHAFan_ “It’s meh. I think with some very small changes it could easily be a 8.5/10, but for now it’s a 5.5/10.” – _aeg1s_ “Boring and zero imagination. Could have rolled that standard kit out in May.” – _Cyber Seagull_ ## My rating for the 2025-26 Brighton home kit Fan consensus seems split over the Brighton 2025-26 home kit. My rating? A solid 7.5 out of 10. After all, there is only so much you can do with blue and white stripes. Nobody can see that what Nike have produced is outstanding or ground breaking. But it does the job and the club will probably feel Nike have hit their objective with it. I think it will be one of those shirts which begins to grow on people once it starts to be seen in-person at the Amex as the 2025-26 season gets underway. The price is obviously controversial. £70 for a standard plain shirt. Add a name and number and the Premier League patches and it is more like £90 without any delivery charge. That though seems to be the norm these days. __ Share __ Tweet __ Pin it __ Share __ Share __ Share

**You can read a lot into the summer transfer business of a football club. Sometimes too much. But are the signings being made by Brighton pointing to a change in tactics and formation from Fabian Hurzeler going into the 2025-26 season?** Many Albion supporters are starting to speculate this maybe the case. And Hurzeler himself spoke on the even of the players returning to pre-season training of how new options available to him might allow a change in approach. “I think we changed it last season, so we always want to have this flexibility. And I think we have players in the squad that give us flexibility.” “We bring now, for example, Olivier Boscagli. He is a left footed player. We didn’t have this in defence before, so it will be interesting to see how this team develops and fits together. Also, we need to use pre-season to get the right formation and the right people on the pitch.” ## Brighton formation 2024-25 In his first season at Brighton, Hurzeler pretty much stuck with the same formation used by Roberto De Zerbi. It was 4-2-3-1 almost all the way, other than a couple of notable exceptions. When the Albion won 1-0 at Newcastle United in October, Hurzeler went with an old school 4-4-2. Danny Welbeck and Evan Ferguson led the line ahead of two banks of four. The idea was to park the bus and hit the Saudi Sportswashers on the break. You know. The exact same tactics lots of Brighton fans criticise any visitors for using at the Amex. And it worked. A glorious backs-to-the-wall performance delivered a victory which Mark McGhee would have been toasting with a pint of whiskey. On the subject of pints of whiskey, Hurzeler appeared to have overindulged when picking his team for the February trip to Nottingham Forest. All of Welbeck, Joao Pedro, Georginio Rutter, Yankubu Minteh and Kaoru Mitoma were named in the starting XI. Jack Hinshelwood was the only central midfielder picked. The Albion were predictably overrun, shipping seven goals for a heaviest league defeat since 1958. When spam was the most popular sandwich filling in the United Kingdom. Charles De Gaulle was Time Man of the Year rather than an airport outside Paris. And the death penalty in Britain was still 11 years away from being abolished. ## St Pauli formation 2023-24 Rarely spotted was the formation which brought Hurzeler such success as St Pauli won the Bundesliga 2 title in 2023-24 – his almost-mythical 3-4-3. And it was no normal 3-4-3 either. The central centre back needed to be so comfortable stepping into midfield in possession that Hurzeler often used an actual midfielder in the role. The two wing backs were normally out-and-out wingers. They had little defensive responsibility with their main focus attacking. Either side of a traditional number nine in the front three were two more wingers. It was an XI effectively made up of two centre backs. Three central midfielders. Four wingers. One striker. And a goalkeeper. All-out attack. The reliance on attacking wide players was the assumed reason why Brighton signed 123 wingers last summer. To give Hurzeler the personnel he needed for his St Pauli tactics to work at Brighton. But for whatever reason, Hurzeler opted to shelf his 3-4-3. Perhaps he thought it too attacking for the Premier League and susceptible to counter attacking opponents. Just like how he found out the hard way when Cole Palmer ran riot at Stamford Bridge that there is a significant difference between playing a high line in the German second tier and doing so in the toughest league in the world. Or maybe he was unconvinced by the players at his disposal to carry it out effectively. Particularly in defence. If Hurzeler did his homework, he would have seen that whenever any combination of Lewis Dunk, Jan Paul van Hecke, Adam Webster and Igor Julio played in back three in 2023-24, it was usually a disaster. Why was this? Who would fulfil the centre back driving into midfield role? Were the wing backs good enough? The only fleeting glimpses we saw of Brighton playing a back three in 2024-25 were usually in second half tactical adjustments when the Albion were chasing games. ## Do Brighton summer signings point to a change of tactics and formation for 2025-26? Which leads us nicely into the summer signings Brighton have made and what they could mean for tactics and formation going into 2025-26. Two new centre backs have arrived in Olivier Boscagli and Diego Coppola. Giving the first team squad seven centre backs. Even allowing for the possible departure of Igor and Eiran Cashin, five Premier League standard centre backs fighting for two places in a 4-2-3-1 is surely too many. Boscagli just happens to arrive with the exact profile of ball carrying central defender capable of stepping into midfield which Hurzeler’s 3-4-3 relies upon. If the lack of individual to perform that specific role is why Hurzeler did not deploy 3-4-3 last season, Boscagli removes the issue. You then have him flanked either side by two of Van Hecke, Coppola, Dunk or Webster. A potentially formidable back line. Even before you consider where Joel Veltman fits into it all. Then there is the latest recruit through the Amex door, Maxim De Cuyper. A left back who is brilliant going forward but not so great defensively. De Cuyper in a back four playing against someone like Bukayo Saka sounds like it could be nightmare inducing. But De Cuyper at left wing back in a 3-4-3? He seems tailor made for the role. ## If it ain’t broke, why fix it? Any change in tactics or formation for Brighton in 2025-26 would come with risk. The Albion have played 4-2-3-1 since October 2022, when De Zerbi first introduced it to brilliant effect as Glow Up Graham Potter and Chelsea were humiliated 4-1 at the Amex. It is a formation which has delivered sixth, 11th and eighth place finishes in the Premier League – three of the four highest placings in Albion history. And the two highest points tallies Brighton have ever racked up as a top flight club; under De Zerbi in 2022-23 and Hurzeler last time out. It has also taken the Albion to an FA Cup semi final and the Europa League round of 16, beating European giants like Marseille, Ajax, AEK Athens and Roma along the way. You can therefore reasonably argue that if it ain’t broke, why fix it? The same though could have been said when De Zerbi ditched Potter’s version of a back three despite Brighton having been in flying form for the previous six months. Maybe Hurzeler feels Brighton are now ready to properly unleash his 3-4-3 tactics and formation on the Premier League. That 2024-25 was merely a warm up act for _The Youngest Permanent Manager in Premier League History_ to learn, understand and become accustomed to English football. And that a swich can take the Albion to new heights. Either that or Palmer will score another four goals in 45 minutes and 3-4-3 will go the same way as the high line. Whatever happens, 2025-26 is shaping up to be an exciting season. __ Share __ Tweet __ Pin it __ Share __ Share __ Share

Everton are hoping to finish higher up the Premier League table next season, but to do so, they need to improve David Moyes' squad.

**Brighton have sent Ibrahim Osman on loan to Auxerre – leaving the future of player who arrived with much fanfare just 12 months ago for £16 million in rather a lot of doubt.** The winger will join the Ligue 1 side for the 2025-26 season having failed to impress during a season with Feyenoord. And with an apparent buy-clause in the loan deal struck with Auxerre, it is a strong possibility that Osman will never play a competitive game for the Albion. Osman was signed from FC Nordsjaelland in February 2024. The £16 million fee made him the second-most expensive teenager ever signed by Brighton after the £25 million forked out for Carlos Baleba six months earlier. The Albion fought off strong competition from West Ham to capture Osman. He was described at the time as one of the most exciting young wingers in European football after impressing in Denmark aged only 19. By the time Osman arrived at the Amex for the start of pre-season ahead of the 2024-25 season, he had scored 10 times and assisted another nine goals for Nordsjaelland. Many thought he would come straight into the first team squad at the Amex. Mainly based on the fee paid. Brighton though decided to sign 127 other wide players last summer. Although Osman featured in pre-season, he was well done the pecking order by the time the competitive action was about to kick off. And so he was loaned to the Eredivisie for first team football. ## Ibrahim Osman struggles at Feyenoord Osman was given the task of filling the boots of a certain Yankubu Minteh at Feyenoord. Minteh had impressed on loan at De Kuip from Newcastle United in 2023-24 before the Saudi Sportswashers were forced into selling him to the Albion for PSR reasons. Big boots to fill and a role Osman struggled with. He started only six Eredivisie games, making a further 16 substitute appearances. Three goals and the same number of assists were provided. There were four starts and three substitute appearances in the Champions League and a further three outings in the Dutch Cup, returning another goal. Rachel Riley will have already deduced that gave Osman a Feyenoord career record of 13 starts, 19 more appearances off the bench, four goals and three assists. The general consensus from Feyenoord fans of Osman was not particularly flattering. Opinions ranged from not good enough for the Premier League to not good enough for the Dutch second division… let alone the Eredivisie. Meaning nobody can be that surprised that Brighton are packing off Ibrahim Osman off on another loan – this time to Auxere. ## Osman, Auxere… and the rumoured buy clause What maybe does come as a surprise is that the deal taking Osman from Brighton to Auxerre contains an apparent buy clause. According to various sources, said buy clause is set at €16 million. Or £13.8 million. Less than the £16 million the Albion paid for Osman 18 months ago. It would also appear that Brighton were keen for Osman to leave this summer. Alongside the buy clause were reports the player rejected moving to Auxerre on several occasions before finally relenting and agreeing to be packed off to France. Between the lines, it reads like the Albion wanted Osman to join Auxerre. He said no. They wanted him to join Auxerre again. He said no again. They wanted him to join Auxerre again. He said no again. Eventually it becoming a case of you are going to Auxerre. At which point, Osman accepted. Which does not bode particularly well for his long-term future with Brighton. ## The challenges which come with buying teenagers What makes the inclusion of the buy clause most interesting is that it suggests Brighton have already given up on Osman making the grade as a Premier League player. Which is quite a big call. He is still only 20-years-old. Wingers take longer to develop consistency in their game than any other position on the pitch. Aged 20, Solly March was in-and-out of an Albion side struggling near the bottom of the Championship. Kaoru Mitoma did not move to Europe until the age of 24. Simon Adingra was in Denmark, four years ahead of Osman at Nordsjaelland. Anthony Knockaert had not even left France for Leicester City. It also highlights the challenges that come with buying teenagers who proclaimed the best thing since sliced bread based on a YouTube highlights reel and little else. Osman and Valentin Barco were both signed by Brighton at around the same time. Both were hailed the future. Labelled _Tony Bloom has done it again_ signings. And yet Barco was sold 18 months after his £7.8 million arrival for £8.5 million having made just seven Albion appearances. If Ibrahim Osman ends up joining Auxerre permanently because of the buy clause next summer, it will mean he and Barco managed 286 minutes of competitive football between them with Brighton making a £2.9 million overall loss. Food for thought before proclaiming the next teenage signing made by Brighton a wonderkid? __ Share __ Tweet __ Pin it __ Share __ Share __ Share

**Two things are worth noting about new Brighton left back Maxim De Cuyper. The first is his name sounds like that of a Bond villain. The second is that his attacking numbers are pretty bloody ridiculous.** In 202 professional appearances, he has scored 29 goals and registered 37 assists. He has three goals in 10 games for the Belgian national team. There are few full backs in Europe who have been as creative as De Cuyper over the past five seasons. Which is why the Albion have forked out £17.5 million to bring him to England from Club Brugge, strengthening their options at left back where their only current specialist is the almost-as-attack-minded Pervis Estupinan. Who may or may not yet leave the Amex himself this summer. ## Who is Maxim De Cuyper? De Cuyper came from the ranks at Club Brugge, making his senior debut aged 19 in the 2019-20 campaign. He had already marked himself out by that point as one-to-watch, registering eight assists in only 18 games for the Under 19s. He played for Club NXT – Brugge’s reserve team – in the Belgian second tier during 2020-21. 20 matches returned three assists and five goals. De Cuyper then spend the next two seasons on loan with Westerloo, helping them win the second division title in 2021-22 with six goals and give games from 25 outings. He returned to Westerloo for the 2022-23 top division campaign. Another eight goals and six assists followed, convincing Brugge to hand him a first team opportunity going into 2023-24. There has been no looking back since then. De Cuyper has played a grand total of 114 times for Club Brugge. He has scored nine times and provided 22 assists across Jupiler League, Champions League and Europa Conference with his medal collection consisting of three championships, one Belgian Cup and one Super Cup. De Cuyper made his international debut for Belgium in June 2024. His three goals so far have come against Italy and Ukraine in the Nations League and North Macedonia in World Cup qualification. ## Why is Maxim De Cuyper so good going forward? Those goal and assist numbers only really scratch the surface of how good De Cuyper is going forward. He created 90 chances in the Jupiler League last season. That was not just the most of all defender by an absolute mile. But the second-highest of any player in the Belgian top flight. Such attacking ability comes with a perhaps predictable trade off – De Cuyper is not particularly great defensively. Which explains why it is Brighton who have signed him rather than one of the European elite. Because if De Cuyper could defend, he could be one of the best left backs in the world playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona. Like how if Pascal Gross had pace, we would never have seen him in an Albion shirt. De Cuyper ranked particularly poorly against other Jupiler League defenders for interceptions, clearances and aerial duels last season. His tackling and block numbers were only marginally better. It would appear as though Brighton fans can expect plenty of fireworks down the left next season when De Cuyper is in the team. But opposition right wingers will equally be rubbing their hands together with glee at the prospect of facing him. ## Can Maxim De Cuyper bring his impressive Belgian form into the Premier League? Having such impressive attacking numbers in the Belgian Pro League is one thing. But how will they translate to the Premier League? A better indication of how De Cuyper might fare in England comes from his Champions League exploits with Club Brugge. 12 appearances in the competition last season returned one goal and zero assists. Whilst that does not make great reading, De Cuyper though did create 17 chances and take 11 shots. Suggesting his European output was still impressive and it was his teammates struggling to make the most of opportunities he provided against superior defenders and goalkeepers. The Albion’s reasonably good record when it comes to signing players from Belgium is another reason to be confident in De Cuyper coping with step up. Leandro Trossard, Bart Verbruggen, Maty Ryan and Jose Izquierdo were signed from Jupiler League clubs. Kaoru Mitoma and Simon Adingra developed well on loan at Union Saint-Gilloise. And Deniz Undav would have been a success had he been able to find a place in Sussex selling a decent sausage and kebab, removing the homesickness which impacted him. I have said it before and I will say it again… but somebody at the club really should have taken him to _Ali Baba_ in Southwick Square before sanctioning his move to Stuttgart. What makes the Belgian success story particularly interesting is the number of flops Brighton have signed from the Netherlands; the Eredivisie being of comparable standard. Hello, DJ Jurgen Locadia and Alireza Jahanbakhsh. ## Set piece prowess There are two other exciting attributes Maxim De Cuyper brings to Brighton. The first is his prowess from set pieces. Over a third of the high number of chances he created last season came from corners and free kicks. De Cuyper took and scored two penalties for Club Brugge last season. He was also on taking duties at Westerloo despite being young and a loan player, scoring four spot kicks and missing one in the 2022-23 campaign. When Fabian Hurzeler arrived at the Amex last summer with a haircut like Lloyd Christmas from _Dumb & Dumber_, he talked about how important set piece goals were. This was music to the ears of Brighton fans, whose experiences of corners and free kicks had been crap for a number of years. It did not really feel like there was much improvement in that particular area. Maybe Maxim De Cuyper has been brought to Brighton with one eye on corners and free kicks. Like a Belgian reincarnation of Paul Watson? As for his decent penalty record, the Albion have a vacancy for a spot kick taker following Joao Pedro joining Chelsea for £60 million. All of which is certain to make De Cuyper of interest to FPL managers in 2025-26. ## Ability to wind up opponents The other exciting attribute is that De Cuyper appears to be made in the mould of Neal Maupay in terms of winding up opposition players and fans. A magnificent moment took place when Brugge faced Atalanta in the Champions League in February. De Cuyper prevented a quick throw being taken. This caused Atalanta captain Rafael Toloi to loose his cool and try and throw the ball into the face of De Cuyper. Toloi though fumbled his attempt. Now totally embarrassed, he opted to chase after De Cuyper and kick him to the ground. Even barging the referee out of the way for good measure. Earning an incredible, iconic red card. The following month and De Cuyper managed to upset fans of Cercle Brugge in the city derby. Club won 3-1 as the away side in Jan Breydel Stadium the two teams share, after which Ardon Jashari planted a flag with their badge on it in the centre circle. This did not go down when with Cercle fans, leading to De Cuyper having beer thrown at him as he attempted to leave the ground afterwards. And on the subject of beer, De Cuyper has been known to stand in the centre circle after a game before and neck a pint in celebration of victory. Imagine the scenes when he repeats that at the Amex and the club have to ban Maxim De Cuyper for five years for breaking ground regulations and besmirching the good name of Brighton & Hove Albion. __ Share __ Tweet __ Pin it __ Share __ Share __ Share