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Did Paul Barber’s transfer admission arrive at the wrong time
Brighton’s transfer dealings and succession planning are the envy of many clubs across Europe.
Yves Bissouma moved to Tottenham in 2022 for £30m, no problem there’s an Ecuadorian called Moises Caicedo who recently signed for around £4m from Independiente del Valle.
Caicedo turned out to be quite useful, so Chelsea paid an eye-watering £115m for him – that’s okay, Carlos Baleba has just joined for £20m from Lille.
Paul Barber, CEO of Brighton & Hove Albion talks to BBC Sport prior to the Premier League match against Fulham Amex StadiumPaul Barber, CEO of Brighton & Hove Albion talks to BBC Sport prior to the Premier League match against Fulham Amex Stadium
Paul Barber, CEO of Brighton & Hove Albion talks to BBC Sport prior to the Premier League match against Fulham Amex Stadium
Leandro Trossard moved to Arsenal for around £30m. Surely that’s going to hurt. Hang on, no panic, a Japanese winger called Kaoru Mitoma signed from Kawasaki Krontale for around £3m.
Pervis Estupinan is in for £15m as Marc Cucurella left for Chelsea for £63m. Bart Verbruggen at £15m as Rob Sanchez went for £26m. And perhaps one of the smartest and least talked about, Deniz Undav to VfB Stuttgart last summer for £30m – the same as Brighton paid Newcastle for Yankuba Minteh.
Alexis Mac Allister’s £35m fee to Liverpool covered the £30m Brighton paid Watford for Joao Pedro, with change left over. And so it goes on. It’s extremely impressive.
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Brighton chief Paul Barber is in charge of the club’s major outgoing transfer negotiations and hats off to him and to all at the club who help develop the players. It has allowed Brighton to reinvest into their squad and maintain their push for Europe at the top end of the Premier League.
All the while training facilities have been upgraded, along with ongoing improvements to the Amex Stadium.
The key of course is spotting the next talent to sign and then having the structure in place to maximise the player’s potential and transfer value.
It also requires a certain level of patience from the head coach as young, raw talents learn their trade while competing in one of the most competitive leagues in world football. Former boss Graham Potter once referred to it as, “fixing the plane while it’s up in the air.”
Brighton’s latest crop have made mistakes this season but the learning curve has been swift. Albion are into the last eight of the FA Cup and seventh in the Premier League – just one point off the Champions League spots with 10 league matches to go.
The likes of Verbruggen, Baleba, Joao Pedro, Yankuba Minteh, Mitoma and Georginio have formed the backbone of this team and are probably the six most in-demand assets of the current squad. Although you could easily add Jan Paul van Hecke and Jack Hinshelwood to that list.
Mitoma, at 27, is in his peak years, while the others are low 20s and already playing at a consistently high level. The combined value of Verbruggen, Baleba, Pedro, Minteh, Mitoma and Georginio could easily be close to £500m.
These players will all be on the list of top clubs at home and abroad and Barber, speaking to Football Focus, was right to say that Brighton will probably sell some – or perhaps all – of these players at some point.
"We are not saying that is going to be this summer but certainly in the future we know that is probably likely to happen," said Barber when asked on the futures of Mitoma and Baleba prior to the Fulham match.
The comments caused upset and concern with some fans. Perhaps after a £200m transfer spend last summer some thought Albion’s model of selling players just before their peak years was over. But it very much remains the brutal reality of Brighton’s strategy – one that has brought them such success so far.
The only issue with Barber’s comments could be the timing. Brighton are on a six-match win streak and very much in the mix for Champions League football next season.
Agents, the Albion players and other clubs would have heard Barber’s comments. Hurzeler has finally got this relatively new group of young players focused, firing and fit (mostly) and the last thing the manager needs now is the likes of Mitoma, Pedro or Baleba thinking of the summer window rather than the last 10 matches.
Barber is always honest and he gave an insightful answer to Jonathan Pearce’s question. Perhaps at that moment, he was a little too honest.
Picking the right moment to sell and making sure the replacements are ready is something Albion have mostly done very well and the track record suggests it can continue.
As Hurzeler would say, “trust the process.”
For your next Albion read: 'It's weird' – Gary Lineker and Micah Richards make Fabian Hurzeler observation after Brighton and Fulham clash