Chelsea and Brighton do more business than most Premier League teams.
Indeed, the Blues and the Seagulls seem to deal with one another every single summer as the likes of Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella and Robert Sanchez have all swapped the Amex for Stamford Bridge.
At one point, Chelsea even took Brighton’s manager, Graham Potter, but the less said about that the better.
Joao Pedro has joined Chelsea this summer, and Pedro is already impressing after making this move, despite early complaints from Chelsea fans.
Speaking to Brighton’s YouTube channel, Seagulls CEO, Paul Barber has been discussing Pedro’s move to Chelsea, and he says he was disappointed to see the Brazilian leaving Brighton.
Joao Pedro during a Premier League clash between Brighton and Aston Villa.
Photo by Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images
Paul Barber disappointed by Joao Pedro’s move to Chelsea
Barber spoke about Pedro’s move to Chelsea.
The CEO acknowledged that this was a huge opportunity for his player, but he noted that he was disappointed to lose such a talented individual.
“Yes, a big opportunity for Joao to move, in his mind, to the next level. With winning the Club World Cup and scoring in the final you could say he’s gone on to do just that,” Barber said.
“For Joao, the World Cup is an important factor in his decision making, he wants to play at the highest level he can in club football.
“We were disappointed that he wanted to leave because he’s a top player, but the deal had to be right for us as well as the player, and we were able to negotiate very hard with Chelsea and get the best deal we could.”
Brighton’s incredible succession planning
Barber was disappointed to lose Pedro to Chelsea, but he has been here before on so many occasions.
Indeed, Brighton have spent the last few years losing star player after star player, and, each and every time a big star leaves, they replace them adequately.
Player Sold (Club, Year) Transfer Fee Replacement
Yves Bissouma, Tottenham, 2022 ~£30 million Moises Caicedo
Marc Cucurella, Chelsea, 2022 ~£62 million Pervis Estupiñán
Moises Caicedo, Chelsea, 2023 ~£115 million Carlos Baleba
Robert Sánchez, Chelsea, 2023 ~£25 million Bart Verbruggen
There’s a reason Brighton keep getting better and better as a team, and it’s because of the work people like Paul Barber do behind the scenes.
Yes, losing Pedro is a blow, but it wouldn’t be a shock if Stefanos Tzimas immediately became a star on the south coast after signing for the Seagulls this summer.