Brighton had a busy January transfer window, completing 13 deals in total, including the return of a club legend, the loans of youngsters looking for minutes, and the sales of fringe players to the EFL.
The Seagulls operate delicately in the winter window, and as that continued to be the case this year, The Brighton Base takes a look at all the Albion’s finalised transfers over the past month…
Ins:
Pascal Gross – The German returned to the south coast on New Year’s Day for a fee of just under £2million after 18 months away at Borussia Dortmund. The 34-year old’s return was the highlight of the window for every Brighton fan, and he showed his qualities with the opening goal against Everton last Saturday.
Igor Julio (recall) – The former Fiorentina defender struggled for minutes on loan at West Ham, playing just 103 minutes across four Premier League games in the first half of the season. After looking surplus to requirements at the Amex Stadium, the Brazilian was brought back into Fabian Hurzeler’s squad to allow Diego Coppola to be loaned out.
Matt O’Riley (recall) – The versatile midfielder was enjoying life in the south of France, playing 25 games across all competitions for Marseille, but after their last-minute heartbreak in the Champions League, the club needed to cut costs and the Dane was a casualty of that. His unexpected return also allowed promising attacker Brajan Gruda to spend the rest of the season on loan.
Outs:
Tommy Watson – Sunderland’s Play-off final hero completed a £10million to the Albion over the summer and is rated highly on the Sussex coast, but after playing just 193 minutes this season, he was sent on loan to the Championship’s Millwall. The winger will be keen to continue his development at The Den with regular minutes and help his side in their promotion push.
Brajan Gruda – The £25m signing has had an inconsistent season so far, scoring a dramatic late winner against Manchester City, but missing five games through injury and failing to establish himself in the Seagulls’ starting XI. His lack of impact and minutes saw the Brighton hierarchy make the decision to loan him to RB Leipzig for the rest of the season, as exclusively revealed by The Brighton Base, in a bid to give him more consistent minutes and push for a spot at the World Cup.
Diego Coppola – The Italian defender is another of the Seagulls’ young talents who have struggled for minutes so far this season, making just nine appearances in all competitions. With Igor returning to the club, the opportunity arose for the centre-back to spend the second half of the season on loan at Paris FC.
Facundo Buonanotte – Brighton’s decision to loan the Argentine to Chelsea in the summer raised eyebrows among supports, and after playing just eight times for the Blues, it was no surprise to see him recalled. The playmaker was then loaned back out to Leeds in the hope the newly-promoted side can provide him the game time he needs to reach his potential.
Eiran Cashin – The former Derby captain had a difficult start to life at Brighton last season, and his misfortunes continued on loan at Birmingham, where he made a few errors and was quickly viewed as a backup player before being recalled. His future on the south coast remains uncertain, but since being loaned to Blackburn, he has started three of their last four games and began to rediscover his form that had the Seagulls chasing him for multiple windows.
Ibrahim Osman – The promising attacker was subject to another loan this season after disappointing in the Eredivisie with Feyenoord. Unfortunately for the youngster, that poor form continued at Auxerre. After failing to score in 15 appearances for the French outfit, he was allowed to return to the Amex Stadium, where he quickly finalised another temporary move to Birmingham in the hope he starts to show signs of reaching the potential that brought him to the south coast in 2024.
Jeremy Sarmiento – The Ecuadorian started the season in the Serie A with newly-promoted Cremonese, but after playing a mere 137 minutes across the first half of the campaign, he was recalled and loaned to promotion chasing Middlesbrough with a £5million option to buy, subsequently, snubbing Birmingham.
Andrew Moran – Irish midfielder Moran joined the Seagulls in 2020 from Bray Wanderers. He initially joined up with the Under-21s before making his Premier League debut in 2023 under Roberto De Zerbi. The 22-year-old spent the last two seasons in the Championship with Stoke and Blackburn, but after narrowly missing out on Hurzeler’s 25-man squad this season, he spent the first half of the campaign with Los Angeles FC. He returned to the club at the start of January after a successful spell in America before completing a £1million, plus bonuses, move to Preston.
Caylan Vickers – The youngster rejected Real Madrid to move to Brighton in 2024, but after loans to Mansfield and Barnsley, and not making a first-team appearance for the Seagulls, Vickers has been sent out on loan to League One strugglers Wigan.
Yoon Do-young – The South Korean wonderkid joined Brighton over the summer after showing plenty of promise in the K League, but due to not having a work permit, he had to move on loan to Dutch side Excelsior. The winger was used sparingly after his goal against Utrecht, so with minutes needed to secure his permit, he was loaned to Dutch second tier side Dordrecht, where he scored an Olimpico against Den Bosch.
Rejected bids:
Charlie Cresswell – It was reported late in the window that the Seagulls had a bid of just over £20m rejected for the Toulouse centre-back. It’s likely that the Englishman was viewed as a summer replacement for Jan Paul Van Hecke, but it remains to be seen whether Albion’s interest remains into the next window.
Micah Mbick – The Charlton youngster was subject of two bids from Brighton, with the second totalling £3.5million, and a third was said to have been considered. However, nothing more came from those reports and the 19-year-old remained on loan at Colchester United. The Seagulls view him as a big prospect, so it would be no surprise to see them re-enter negotiations in the summer.
Lewis Dunk –Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche was eager to add an experienced Premier League defender to his ranks, with the Brighton captain viewed as a top target. The Tricky Trees’ approach was swiftly rejected by Brighton owner Tony Bloom, and it was made clear they have no intention of selling their skipper.
Yasin Ayari – Nottingham Forest also made a £20million bid for the Swedish midfielder, but it was immediately rejected and again made clear he is not for sale.