Introduction and Context
With Brighton having qualified for European football for just the second time in the club’s history, it’s fair to assume that fans have lofty expectations for the upcoming summer transfer window. After all, with European qualification comes more games, more money, and, therefore, a way to buy players who can help manage the additional workload.
So, who better to buy than a player with Champions League experience, who can fill in at a position where Brighton lack clarity?
Enter João Pedro Loureiro da Costa, more commonly known as Costinha.
While I don’t think Costinha is capable of what my first thought was when I learnt his real name – to give him the No. 9, play him at striker, and keep him far away from the allure of London – he is, ultimately, a specialist right-back, meaning he can play in a position where Brighton keep having to deploy midfielders.
But just how good is Costinha? Why are the Seagulls pushing to secure his signature? Could he possibly emulate the last inexpensive signing Brighton made at right-back?
Let’s find out…
Strengths
Ball-carrying and dribbling
Costinha’s first tendency, more often than not, is to pick up the ball and drive with it. While there are some qualms with its overall effectiveness, this tendency naturally forces play upfield, easing pressure, which is especially key after your side has been defending for an extended spell.
He also seems to combine well with players, even when carrying at speed, and that should be useful in a Brighton system that, under Fabian Hürzeler, emphasises rotations. Being able to look up and see where your teammates are, what spaces have been occupied, and what spaces may need to be occupied in the future, becomes especially important when your defensive line presses as high as Brighton’s does.
Aerial ability
Costinha is like a magnet to the ball during attacking corners. He has averaged 0.36 headed shots per 90 in the Greek Super League, placing him in the 97th percentile for this statistic.
It is then promising that he’s generally able to head the ball well, and that he does frequently resort to doing so, placing in the 100th percentile for aerial duels won per 90 with 3.66, and with a win rate of 67.6%.
Under Hurzeler, Brighton’s midfield can be very easy to play through aerially. Carlos Baleba is fairly strong in the air, but outside of him, the midfield lacks physicality. Then, extend this to the defence, and you could say the whole ‘defensive’ core lacks pace as well.
Therefore, it can generally be easy for opponents to play a long ball over the midfield and to their winger, from where they can run at one of Brighton’s full-backs unopposed. Costinha would help put an end to that, aerially at least, especially if he’s able to intercept the long ball before the winger can meet it.
Work rate
Hürzeler’s system demands that his players work hard and keep running, and Costinha fits the bill in this regard. He’s able to consistently churn out full 90s, all whilst pressing aggressively and staying relatively injury-free.
This is key for a season that will be more congested, with plenty of European football on the cards and a shortened pre-season due to the World Cup, meaning some players, like fellow full-backs Ferdi Kadıoğlu and Maxim De Cuyper, may need some time off.
Tactical fit
While I did mention ball-carrying as one of Costinha’s strengths, and you should always play to your players’ strengths, you have to wonder whether his carry-first mentality truly suits Brighton.
As things stand, Brighton have three main options on the wings: Kaoru Mitoma, Yankuba Minteh, and Diego Gómez. Given that Costinha is a right-back, let’s dilute these options to the club’s right wingers: Minteh and Gómez.
From there, let’s take a look at their dynamics with Mats Wieffer and Kadıoğlu – two different full-back profiles, but both of whom played considerable minutes at right-back this season.
When Wieffer starts, he usually sits deep, floating around as the third centre-back, with the winger on his side sitting a little high. The right-sided central midfielder drops deep alongside Wieffer to then become the link between the Dutchman and the right winger:
Whereas, when Kadıoğlu starts at right-back, he’s a lot more adventurous, often running beyond the right winger, and very frequently combining, leaving them free to cross from deep when he roams inside to play as, almost, a second No. 10:
Costinha is ultimately more like Kadıoğlu than Wieffer. That said, he does tend to carry possession forward a lot more than the Turkish international, though he isn’t two-footed enough to come inside and play comfortably in those central areas.
Hence, I worry about how he’ll fit into Brighton’s set-up, unless Hürzeler plays him behind someone like Brajan Gruda – a right winger who likes floating and taking up No. 10-esque positions, therefore enabling Costinha to run beyond him on the touchline, towards the byline, and effectively cross like a winger.
Left foot and passing
Costinha is extremely one-footed. He almost exclusively uses his right foot, and therefore, the solutions he can come up with on a football pitch are limited by how he leans so heavily on his favoured side.
This broadly leaves him with two main solutions: carry or cross. While the fact that he does frequently beat his man in 1v1s does inspire confidence, it is unclear how this will scale over to a more physical league, such as the Premier League.
But let’s take running 1v1 with his marker out of the equation.
The concerns with Costinha’s tactical fit then seep into his crossing ability, because he’s not as likely to find himself near the opponent’s box as frequently as he does with Olympiacos, simply due to the standard of the English top-flight. That leaves passing as the only option.
Costinha’s passing isn’t truly refined, and he does have a tendency to lose the ball frequently. While pass accuracy is not the be-all and end-all as a metric, whether Costinha’s attempted passing is risky and efficient enough to warrant such a low percentage is certainly up for debate, so I do further worry about how his skillset will translate to a team that relies more on his passing, like Brighton.
Reactive defending
While this is, arguably, quite nitpicky, Costinha can be labelled as a reactive defender.
Let’s assume there are two types of defenders: reactive and proactive defenders. Reactive defenders see what the opponent is doing and respond accordingly. The issue here is that they’re often slow to defend because they can only plan out their action once the opponent has made their move.
Proactive defenders look to read what their opponent will do and make the counter-movement in anticipation. In foreseeing what their marker does, they can block off any possible solutions, ultimately winning the ball back for their side reliably and consistently.
Costinha is very reactive. While he understands defensive angles really well, meaning he does appear to be a good 1v1 defender, he often has to make the tackle late because he is reacting, leading to him opting to go sliding into challenges. While there is nothing wrong with a slide tackle, it does mean that he is at a greater risk of bookings, which therefore gives him less opportunity to go back in for another tackle.
Given that Brighton’s centre-backs lack pace, it’s not ideal for the full-back to frequently dive into tackles, unless they’re anomalously efficient in doing so. The silver lining in this respect is that the Seagulls’ wingers are quick and willingly track back, which would relieve some of this stress.
Example: Where would Costinha fit in at Brighton?
In this setup, Costinha would be given room to run beyond his right winger, assuming the winger is a player who is comfortable drifting into central areas, like Gómez or Gruda.
The right-sided midfielder would stay wide and float freely, linking play between the narrow right winger and Costinha, with the No. 10 arriving in the penalty area on the opposite side.
The left-back would also play slightly conservatively, crossing from deep as opposed to getting close to the box, ensuring that his side have bodies back to manage transitions.
Final thoughts
If Costinha is viewed as a squad piece – someone who’s always available, can consistently put in a 6/10 performance, and takes some pressure off younger players – he looks like he would be a smart signing for Brighton.
He’s by no means a world-beater, but at the same time, for the above role, does he have to be? Kadıoğlu and Wieffer are potentially better right-backs, meaning that Costinha is unlikely to be expected to play every game, and if Joël Veltman stays, that further gives Costinha time to settle into English football.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him pick up the bulk of his minutes in the European Conference League, where Brighton are likely to have more room to experiment with scenarios such as playing a No. 10 on the right wing, further opening avenues to maximise his skillset.
Although there are some weaknesses to be wary of, most of Costinha’s good work is likely to come from what he enables elsewhere, and with that assumption, he could be a shrewd signing for the floated transfer fee, especially for a position where he is the only real ‘specialist’ right-back.