- 4 months ago
Derren Howard, Sam Morton and Henry Bryant discuss and rate Brighton and Hove Albion's summer transfer window
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00:00Okay, welcome to a transfer edition of the Goldmouth Action podcast. I'm joined by Henry
00:07Bryant and Sam Morton from Sussex World. So the transfer window closed on Monday. A few interesting
00:17ins and outs for Brighton across the window. I'll start with you, Sam. Which deal do you think was
00:25best for Brighton and which one really sort of caught your eye throughout the window?
00:31Yeah, no, so it's been definitely an intriguing transfer window for Brighton. Obviously, they've
00:35brought in a couple of new young strikers in Kost, Ulas and Zimas. We've obviously not seen
00:41too much from them just yet. Zimas has done well in the Carabao Cup scoring a couple of
00:46goals and we're just looking forward to seeing how he gets on in the Premier League. Obviously,
00:50we saw a glimpse in that game from Tom Watson, who scored the probably best goal of that
00:55game. We're still waiting to see glibs of him in the Premier League as well. But there's
01:00definitely a lot of excitement around him. But I think Maxime de Kuyper has been a great
01:05one so far. I think he's really settled into the team really quickly. He was obviously a
01:10key part of pre-season and he's a real threat going forward and seemingly solid defensively
01:17as well. And I think, yeah, definitely he's one that's scored my eye in the first few games
01:23of the season. And I think he's only going to get better. Obviously, it's quite big shoes
01:28to fill. Obviously, after Pervis Estepinian left for AC Milan, he was a really good player
01:33for Brighton, a really reliable left back that was able to form a really good partnership
01:38with Matoma. So hopefully, de Kuyper can replicate that and maybe do even better. And the early
01:45signs are good. So I'm pleased with what I've seen from him so far.
01:49Yeah, I agree. I think he's settled in very quickly. Looks very good on the ball. He doesn't
01:55have the physicality of Estepinian, but I think they'll probably get him on the weights
01:59at some stage and boost that, no doubt, throughout the season. But I agree. I think he looks a
02:06very good sign. Henry, you did a piece on the Sussex World website for the transfer window,
02:12the good, the bad and the Chelsea, which I thought was a great headline for your look back
02:17at the window. What caught your eye? I think it's the departure of Jao Pedro, isn't it?
02:23Obviously, that's a blow that Brighton need to fill that gap.
02:30Yeah, definitely. I think every Brighton fan knew how important Jao Pedro was. I don't
02:36think the rest of the world did, but they certainly got a glimpse at that in the Club
02:41World Cup with Jao scoring three goals in two games, one in that final and two in the
02:47semi-finals, which is ridiculous. And yeah, I sort of said in that opinion piece that it
02:53didn't upset me and make me feel gutted because of how well he was doing. It was because it
02:58was for Chelsea. And as we've seen, we've seen even more players come out and go to Chelsea
03:05as well. It's been a really interesting transfer window in that sense. But the main one, yeah,
03:10being Jao Pedro, he was really important for us. And I think that in certain moments,
03:17even in these first few games of the season where Danny Welbeck missed that penalty against
03:22Everton, which could have changed the course of that game, a cool head and a reliable penalty
03:27taker like Jao would have made the difference. And it could have been a draw and it could have
03:32sort of boosted momentum even more. But in my opinion, yeah, that's the main one. That's
03:38the main one. And overall, it's a big blow. It's a big blow. And then it's the fact that
03:45Evan Ferguson as well went on loan to Roma. I think maybe in hindsight, it would have been
03:51good to have kept him, knowing that Jao Pedro would have probably left this summer, but maybe
03:57that was something to do with the player wanting to leave and they didn't let him and they wanted
04:03him to go out on loan at least, because I know there's a buy clause in that Roma deal.
04:09Tarek Clamptey as well was another one I thought was a bit of a gutter. I mean, he hasn't had
04:14that many appearances last... He didn't have that many appearances last season. But when you
04:20look at how many games he's played, I think it was around 122 appearances he's made for the
04:24Albion. He really has helped consolidate us in the Premier League. And, you know, he's
04:30had a couple of goals here and there, a few nice little goals. And yeah, he was just a
04:34nice... He was a nice guy. He was a nice guy. And I don't know, there was something about
04:38him. And yeah, he was just, you know, a small rocket. He was a machine. And yeah, he'll
04:45be missed. But as Sam mentioned, there's, you know, there's a few upcoming players that
04:51we've got in the squad now. And I think the main thing is trying to, maybe in January,
04:56if these Greek lads don't sort of blend into the first team early on, is trying to find
05:02a replacement for João Pedro.
05:04Yeah, yeah. No, that is going to be key. Sam, just looking at some of the business on
05:10transfer deadline day, there was an interesting one. I thought that Igor Julio was quite a funny
05:16one in all areas. He was linked to so many clubs throughout the window. It looked as though
05:23he was going to go to Real Sociedad. Everton, Leeds, Fulham, Wolves were all credited with
05:31interest. It looked like West Ham on deadline day, then Crystal Palace, and then back to West
05:37Ham. I guess Brighton fans will be quite pleased that he didn't go to Palace. But in terms of how
05:44he's going to be missed or thought of during his time at Brighton, it's only a loan. But
05:50yeah, what were your thoughts on that one?
05:53Yeah, it was a funny one, wasn't it? As you say, obviously, just no one really knew where
05:57he was going right up until the last minute.
05:59No, no.
06:00Even he didn't.
06:01Yeah, even he didn't. And it ended up being quite crucial to a key transfer saga elsewhere
06:06in Mark Gahey. It seemingly was the reason why Gahey didn't make the move from Crystal Palace
06:12to Liverpool. And I've seen some Brighton fans saying, perhaps it's a shame that Igor didn't
06:18go to Palace because it means they've kept their captain and their best defender. Perhaps
06:23otherwise would have lost. And there were even reports that Oliver Glasner would have resigned
06:27if they had a soul game without the replacement. So it's all very dramatic.
06:32Did you see his goal against Villa? Exactly. It's a great, great finish.
06:37Yeah, that was an amazing goal for a centre-back, wasn't it?
06:38Great, great goal. Yeah, you don't really expect that from a centre-back, do you? So yeah, he's
06:42a brilliant player. I think Padres will be delighted to keep hold of him. And Igor, yeah, obviously
06:47going to West Ham now. And I think he will be a starter for them. They've obviously had a
06:52really poor start to the season, except for obviously they had a good win at the weekend against
06:57Nottingham Forest. He's obviously 3-0, which I don't think anyone saw coming. But I think
07:00Igor will get minutes for them and we'll have to solidify a bit of a shaky back line on the
07:06whole. And it just didn't quite work out for him in a Brighton shirt, unfortunately. He
07:10was obviously just plagued by injury, not really able to get a run of form in the team. But
07:16I think in terms of the new players that have come in, Oliver Vescalier, Coppola as well,
07:22you obviously still got Lewis Dung, Van Hecht. I think Brighton are pretty solid. I think they
07:27should be okay in those defensive areas, even if there's an injury or two. I think they've got
07:31enough cover. So I think, yeah, this was definitely the right move for all parties. I didn't really
07:37see him get too many minutes in a Brighton shirt this season, unfortunately. And hopefully
07:42he's a good loan spell at West Ham. Obviously he'll be working under Graham Potter, who I'm sure
07:47will be trying to get the best out of him, as it is just alone.
07:51I don't think there's a buy option in there. So it'll be interesting to see what his future
07:57holds after this season.
07:59Yeah, yeah. No, good luck to Igor Julio. Henry, I did a piece this morning on the
08:06Sussex World website. Jan-Paul Van Hecker, he's on international duty. And he admitted that he was
08:12linked with Newcastle and Tottenham throughout the summer. Nothing really, never really seemed as
08:17to say it was advancing from the outside. But he said there was contact about a move this
08:25summer, but he's happy at Brighton. That would have been a blow, wouldn't it, if he'd have gone?
08:33And it's a big boost that he wanted to stay. Yeah, definitely. I think it was one of the last games
08:40of the season against Tottenham when he went over to the fans and it almost looked like we were there,
08:46me and Sam. And Sam said to me, is he saying goodbye? And I was thinking, no, no. In the back of my mind,
08:53as a journalist, I thought maybe he is. But as a fan, I would say no, just to get too caught up in it.
09:02But yeah, I think he's been amazing for us. I can't stress how important he's been. And especially
09:11with Lewis Dunk's form waning, he's just been so pivotal. Obviously, Diego Coppola, the 19-year-old
09:19centre-back who we signed from Hellas Verona, will be coming into the mix soon. But at the same time,
09:26you need that cool head. You need the Premier League experience. Yeah, yeah. I thought Duncan
09:31Van Hecker were very good together against Manchester City. Yeah, very, very solid. And I think that,
09:39yeah, just like you say, it would have been a huge blow. I don't think Eagles, the right player for
09:46Fabian Herzler's squad as well. I don't think quite, I don't want to say mobile, but sort of
09:53mobile, like sort of bringing the ball up the pitch. He likes people that can obviously defend, but can
09:58sort of drive the ball up as well and sort of have a bit of movement. And I think that Eagles just a
10:04little bit of a rock solid defender, no one shall pass, but hasn't got that sort of other side of his
10:10game, which just makes him a little bit more, you know, you know, he makes him a little bit one
10:14dimensional at times. So yeah, no, it's a big, big advancement and improvement for Brighton to
10:23have Van Hecker in there and also Matoma as well going off the pitch. Matoma having all those links.
10:29Yeah, it's great.
10:30Yeah, yeah, no, I agree. There's sometimes in the window, it's who you keep, isn't it? And keeping
10:36Van Hecker, Belieber and Matoma is a huge, huge plus for Brighton. Van Hecker didn't rule out a
10:44move in the future. He said he wants to play at the highest level. And my sort of gut feeling is,
10:48I think maybe one more season, Diogo Coppola will then be introduced slowly into the team this season
10:54and maybe a replacement for him in the future. But we'll just have to wait and see on that one.
11:01One which sort of took me a little bit by surprise, Sam, considering he was selected for the first
11:08two matches of the season. Looks great in preseason as well. Looks really sharp back to full fitness.
11:15Matt O'Reilly looked as though he was, it was going to be, you know, potentially a breakthrough
11:22season for him at Brighton. But he's often, he went to Marseille for a loan with no option to buy,
11:30as far as I can gather.
11:33Yes, a very strange one, wasn't it? I think we discussed this the other day as well. And it was
11:38one that caught me by surprise when I saw it appear. I know that he'd been linked with moves
11:43away throughout the summer. I think lots of clubs are interested in his interest in Italy,
11:48particularly. I think there was a move to Juventus that nearly materialised but collapsed. And yeah,
11:54I mean, O'Reilly's had, yeah, kind of a slow start to his Brighton career really. And it
11:59wasn't healthy. He suffered a serious injury on his debut, obviously in that cup game against
12:03Rawley Town. But he recovered really well. I remember he got a lot of praise from Fabian
12:09personally about how quickly he was recovering and his work in the gym and just trying to get back to
12:16full fitness. And there's a lot of talk about how he was just a real great person to be around in
12:21the dressing room and a real good influence off the pitch. And then he was a really popular goal
12:26scorer and that win against Mad City on his return from injury. And Justine I think would be up for
12:32him after that. But unfortunately it didn't quite work out and he couldn't really find a position in
12:38the team that he could really kind of nail down. He was often played out of position and just not
12:43really able to get the best out of him in a Brighton shirt. But he was really kind of well.
12:52Obviously in pre-season he was playing every game, really playing really well and obviously just
12:55showing signs that he was going to be a key player for Hurtzler this season. And he started the first
13:00two games of the Premier League campaign. So you kind of thought that that was a sign that he was going
13:04to be a main man under Hurtzler. But yeah, he obviously was an unused sub against Man City.
13:11And he was obviously seemingly in the process of signing for Marseille from that point. And then
13:16we found out on deadline day that he was on his way there. It was quite a funny announcement video
13:21where he seemingly put on a bit of a French accent. Yeah, did you see that? Yeah.
13:25Yeah. Yeah. It was a very funny announcement video.
13:28Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, and I wish him well again. He's obviously going to be working under
13:33former Brighton boss Roberto de Cervi. Yeah, I'm sure he'll get a bit of fire in his belly and
13:40obviously get the best out of him hopefully this season. And then if it does go well for him,
13:45he can hopefully return to Brighton next season as a revitalised player. But yeah,
13:51no, I am surprised to see him move on. It even seemed like he might be a penalty taker for Brighton
13:56this season. Obviously taking that first one in the draw against Fulham. He obviously didn't
14:02take one at Everton. It was Danny Welbeck. Yeah, he was on the pitch.
14:05Yeah, so it was all a bit strange. But then obviously they got another penalty against Man City
14:12with James Milner this time stepping up. And they're still looking for that permanent penalty
14:17taker after João Pedro has left the club. And he's obviously, as Henry mentioned, big shoes to fill
14:23in a lot of ways, but definitely penalties because he was very reliable when it came to spot kicks.
14:29Yeah, he was a cool head in that situation. Yeah, it's interesting. Brighton have had three
14:33penalties from three matches already this season. But yeah, they've let a lot of attacking
14:39talent leave, Henry, this window. You look at who's gone, Simona Dingra, Facundo Buonate as well to
14:49Chelsea, which is probably one of the more bizarre moves, and Julio Enciso as well. My feeling behind
14:56that is that they needed to trim the squad. And the emergence of Brian Gruda, who's looked
15:02brilliant in the first, you know, in the early stages of the season. I think his his emergency
15:10is key to that, but they needed to trim it and have players. It's easier now for Herzella to manage,
15:16I guess, rather than having these players which aren't getting minutes. But what are your thoughts
15:22on that, Henry, particularly the Buonate to Chelsea one? Yeah, I was really bamboozled about that,
15:28because reports have said it's a loan with no option to buy, if that's correct. Yeah.
15:33Yeah, that's what I heard. It's even more bizarre. And I don't quite understand that. But then you look
15:38at Julio Enciso that's gone to Strasbourg, and with, and that's part of like, yeah, that was a permanent
15:45one. So yeah, really, really strange. I didn't quite understand that with Buonate. For Julio Enciso,
15:54I sort of get it. He was more, sorry, gone. Sorry. No, I was just agreeing. I get that one as well. Yeah.
16:01Yeah. And in terms of, yeah, Enciso, he was more of a Deserby type of character, in my opinion. He was,
16:10you know, he had those flashes of brilliance. And I think maybe if Deserby did stay at Brighton,
16:15he would have probably flourished a little bit more because he, he was given a lot of confidence under
16:20Deserby. Simona Dhingra, I felt a little bit sorry for the AFCON winner. He was sort of pipped,
16:26wasn't he? It was between him and Yankouba Mente. And I think that Yankouba Mente
16:31they've just sort of edged, edged it really. And he, as well. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that Mente's
16:39just got that extra burst of pace. Yeah. I think that's sort of what separates those two. And also,
16:45he's a bit more of a goal scorer as well, Mente. But yeah, it's, it's interesting. Like you say, I did,
16:51I do think that he had to trim the squad and make sure that people actually got game time. Otherwise,
16:57you've got a massive squad and, and you know, a quarter of them are very happy. If you've got
17:04sour apples in the camp that aren't quite getting the game time, that could sort of spread across
17:08other players. And if there's a bit of a negative, I guess, a negative atmosphere in the training ground
17:14of players that aren't playing and feeling frustrated, then yeah, it could, could affect
17:18things on the pitch. But yeah, I do wish Simona Dingre and Ciso and, and all of the,
17:26those strikers good luck because I think that's the thing with Brighton. They always sign a plethora
17:31of wingers and attacking options, but only a handful of those do get to play in the starting 11. But
17:39Brian Gruda looked absolutely phenomenal when he got his chance against Manchester City.
17:45I think he had a lot to do still, didn't he? When he, when he played the ball in, he wasn't an easy
17:50chance, was it? He had so much to do and he kept such a cool head. Yeah, it was a heart in mouth
17:56moment. And it reminded me a little bit of when Leandro Trossard got, he had a very similar goal
18:03a few seasons back. He sort of had to shuffle his feet. And I think that Brian Gruda could be sort of
18:10the next Leandro Trossard, but in the middle for us as sort of that cam option. And it's exciting.
18:16It's exciting. It's another player that could be leaving in a few seasons time for a hundred million
18:22pounds, but while we've got him, we'll enjoy him. I think, I think that's the, that's the,
18:26that's the way to look at it because yeah, there is a, there is a feeling sometimes at Brighton buy
18:32to sell, don't they? And it's, it's, it's one of those situations. And I think the same with,
18:37with Minty as well, I think he's really going to come on. And these were signings that Brighton
18:42made last summer, took, took a little while to, to get up to speed, but now I think you're really
18:47going to see the best out of the likes of Minty and you know, and, and also Brian, Brian Gruda as,
18:53as well this, this season. But there was always, this window I think was always going to be about
18:58trimming the squad. Herzella spoke a lot about, you know, reducing the size. Paul Barber did,
19:04Tony Bloom did, Sam. Is the squad going to be easier now for Herzella to manage? It must have
19:12been pretty difficult at times last, last season. Yeah, no, I think so. I think it was, it was
19:18definitely difficult to keep everyone happy. Obviously, you saw last season, Evan Ferguson,
19:23obviously he had to be sent out on loan to West Ham. Obviously he didn't, didn't quite go to plan for him
19:30there. And obviously, again, this season, he's gone to Rome. And just from the sheer number of
19:33attacking options that Brighton had, it was definitely hard to keep everyone happy. I think
19:40Danny Welbert was just basically undroppable, the form that he was in, when perhaps we would have
19:44expected him to slowly be eased out of the team. You'd imagine obviously the younger players coming
19:47through the ranks, but just from his form and everything like that, he's just been just such a
19:52key player still. And it'd be interesting to see if that, if that continues this season. And,
19:56and obviously, yeah, there's, there's still plenty of options all over the pitch. And I do,
20:01I do feel like they are in a good place. If they were to pick up a couple of injuries,
20:05they are, they are still in a good position to be able to replace them. There's still some real
20:09versatile players in the team. I think Ferdi Cadioglu is going to be a bit like a new signing,
20:14because we barely saw anything of him last season. So it'd be good to get more from him and keep him
20:20fit and he can definitely play. Absolutely. And Jack Kinsherwood as well. He's been suffering from
20:27an injury, but he's, he's come back into the, into the team and he's going to be really crucial
20:32again. I think this season, he's only going to get, going to get better. But I think, yeah,
20:36I think it sounds like Herzl is really happy with his squad. There's been a lot of outgoings,
20:40a hundred percent, but I feel like they're still in a, in a strong position. And you just,
20:46you hope that the attacking situation goes to plans. There's been a few different roles. I
20:52think obviously Matt O'Reilly was playing quite, quite high up the field before he departed.
20:55Yeah, he's playing a number 10 role. Yeah. Yeah. We've even seen Jorginho in, in that kind of
21:01force nine role as well. And I do think he's a little bit better playing a bit deeper.
21:05So yeah, I think we've not seen the best in World Bet yet this season, but I'm sure,
21:08I'm sure we will. I'm sure he'll get back to his, his best at scoring goals. And then it's only a
21:14matter of time before we start seeing Stefanos Simas banging in the goals in the Premier League.
21:19I'm sure of it. I'm really impressed by what I've seen from him so far. It sounds
21:23like, of course, he's not as, not as close to, to, to playing in the Premier League, but I'm sure
21:27there's, there's plenty of excitement around him as well. And it'd be great to get, get them starting
21:34together at some point. And, and obviously you've got the cup games as well. So there's going to be
21:37plenty of opportunities for forward players in, in the squad. And yeah, I'm excited to see how
21:42it goes this season. Yeah. Yeah. They spent a lot of money, Henry on the, they were the two main
21:47signings, weren't they? The Greek lads that came in, but they've been very patient with,
21:51with, with the two of them. Do you think that's the right approach for them? Or do you think,
21:57particularly after the Oxford game, there was a lot of clamor for Tissimath to, to, to be involved
22:04against in, in the city game, but Herzella was quick to sort of rain, rain it in and just say,
22:10hey, look, we we're taking our time. Well, how do you see that situation?
22:14I think that's very mature of Herzella because I think he realizes that if he throws them in
22:20and they don't have the best games or they're, you know, they lack something because of the fact that
22:26the money that was spent on those two was basically what, um, was, you know, recouped back from
22:32Jao Pedro. Yeah. I think it could sort of spark some headlines of maybe, you know, some bad publicity,
22:39if they don't quite hit it off the mark and if they're not quite ready for it, then I think that
22:45that's completely fair enough. I think that as we, we mentioned, Simas is the one that's likely to be
22:51on the bench at some point after this international break. Uh, Costulas, I reckon we'll see him maybe
22:58appearing sort of maybe near Christmas time, maybe at the start of, uh, start of January. Yeah. Yeah.
23:04So we'll see, we'll see. But I think it's very sensible because it just means that he keeps
23:11their confidence high, gets them in training, gets them familiarized with, um, the beautiful
23:16English weather that we've got now, the reality of that. Um, also just, you know, getting to know
23:21the lads a little bit more. And I think that's the Brighton way they always talk about togetherness.
23:25And I think that if, um, those two sort of come out their shell a little bit and Fabian is able to
23:31give them a little bit more space, a little bit more breathing room, then in the long run, that
23:36might prove to be the, the best decision for the club because they might be able to have that little
23:42bit more confidence stepping onto the Premier League pitch and, and coming onto it because as we know,
23:48it's a, it's a tricky one and it'll be a lot of pressure when they do end up playing their first
23:53Premier League fixtures and getting their first minutes. So I think it's the right choice. As a
23:58Brighton fan, you obviously want to see them just, just get out there and obviously let them go. Yeah.
24:03Yeah. You want to just go, come on, let's get them out there. Danny Welbeck's getting old and you know,
24:08you, so you do, you do in your head think, why, why isn't this happening? But it's the right choice.
24:12It's the right tool, isn't it? Yeah. I, I, I agree. I agree. Um, Sam, there was talk late on the,
24:18deadline day of Joe Gomez potentially coming in from, from Liverpool. That's obviously didn't,
24:24um, didn't materialise in the end. Um, perhaps that sort of right backs slot because he, he,
24:31he can obviously play, play right back. Is, is that a bit of a weakness for Brighton at the moment?
24:35Obviously they've let Tarek Lamptey go. Um, uh, they've got Matt Swiffer who's playing there as a
24:42reluctant right back or almost, he's a midfielder. Uh, Joel Veltman is, is sort of 33,
24:4834 now. Um, did they need to strengthen that area? Do you think Gomez would have been a great
24:53signing by the way, but, uh, is that an area that, that you, you think they needed to look at?
25:00Yeah, it could, it could potentially come back to bite them if, if Maxine Nicole was to, um,
25:04pick up an injury obviously, or, um, or, um, they kind of get injuries in, in those left back positions.
25:10Um, because Matt Swiffer, as we know is, um, is, is primarily a midfielder and he has been played as a,
25:16as a reluctant right back, as you say. Um, and Joel Veltman, we know, um, does quite often pick up
25:22these little, little knocks and, um, can't really rely on him to play every game of the season.
25:28No, no. Um, I think it does seem that we are in, um, uh, will be kind of mainly playing in that
25:34right back role, sharing it with, with his, um, compatriot Ian Beltman. So it'd be interesting to
25:38see, um, how that, how that progresses. Um, but obviously you've got Maxine de Kuyper on, on the left,
25:44and, um, he's still young. You never know, he might be able to, to fill in at right back if needed.
25:48Yeah. Yeah. And I mentioned Jack Kinslewood. He, he can obviously play in right back as well.
25:56And, and Ferdi Caglioglu can obviously, um, fill in at, fill in at left back if there needs to be a
26:00bit of a switch over. So there's, I think there's definitely solutions. There's options, 100%. I
26:05think it does help when you have versatile players in the team. Um, but I feel like it's, it's definitely
26:11an area which potentially they might need a bit of backup in January, perhaps depending on how things go.
26:17If, if there are some injuries, um, we'll have to see, to see how it goes, but fingers crossed a
26:22bit more fortune in, in that department this season when it comes to keeping players fit.
26:27And yeah. And if you do keep everyone fit, I think there's definitely, um, definitely enough cover,
26:32I think for, for the time being, but yeah, time, time would obviously tell how things,
26:36things progress throughout, throughout the season. And yeah, it was, it was a shame to see Tarrant Lamptey leave
26:40because he's obviously such a good servant to the club and it's a bit of an end of an era,
26:44really him, him, uh, even through quarantine. Yeah. Five years. Yeah. Five years at the club.
26:49And he was always a really exciting player to watch, especially in those early days of, um,
26:53the kind of the pace and, um, just the attacking threat that he posed. And, um, it was always a joy
26:58to joy to watch him in, in full flight. And, um, yeah, unfortunately just couldn't keep himself
27:02fit. Just injury after injury really did blight his, his time at Brighton, unfortunately. Um, and hopefully
27:08he, he does, he does do really well for Argentina and gets his career back up and back up and running.
27:13Yeah. Yeah. Henry, any areas do you think Brighton didn't quite address or should have, um,
27:19should have signed any players you think they could have signed, should have signed or?
27:23I think the dream would have been to get Harvey Elliott because that would have been fantastic.
27:29Just a statement signing. We're, we're not only signing these upcoming players that have
27:34got the potential in the, in the lower leagues of, of different, um, at different countries,
27:39but we're also looking to sign upcoming, um, Premier League. Well, not even upcoming, but,
27:44you know, proven young Premier League quality. Yeah. I think that that would have been a great
27:49statement silent. Obviously we missed out on that one and we would have probably only been able to
27:54have got him on loan anyway, but I think that would have been the, the, the kicker, maybe a proper
28:00striker, but then it's, it's sort of just down to whether these two Greek lads can do the business,
28:06which is why I think Fabian's trying to make it a very easy process for them because at the end of
28:12the day, Danny Welbeck, maybe he's got one or two more years in him at the album. Yeah. If, if that,
28:19and that's very, very sort of hopeful thinking. Yeah. Yeah. What about you though? I'm interested to
28:25know what, what did you sort of make of the signings? I would have been surprised if Harvey
28:30Elliott had came in. It would have been a great addition if, if he had have done. Um, but Gomez,
28:35I was thinking, yes, please, you know, just get that one, get the, get him in because I think he's,
28:40what is he? I think he's 27, 27 now, 28 maybe. I think he's 27. And yeah, I, I just saw his ability
28:49to play at the right back as, as well. And the, the, the class that he brings to, to the center back,
28:55particularly if, you know, the fitness of Lewis Dunk, Adam Webster, um, Van Hecker might be going
29:02at the end of, you know, maybe next summer. Uh, I just thought that would have been a really sensible
29:07and very good sign in for Brighton. Um, also though, they do have Oliver Boscagli as well,
29:13at center, at center back. And I think he's going to play a big role, uh, this season for Brighton,
29:17but, but overall, I think it's been a, a really good transfer window for, for them. Um, much would
29:24depend on the, on the Greek guys to see how they, how they settle in. But I just think keeping
29:29Believer, keeping Matoma, uh, and keeping Van Hecker was, was absolutely key. I think they can cope
29:35without Estupinian. Uh, I think they can cope without Edingra quite, quite comfortably. Uh, decoy,
29:42as Sam mentioned, has settled in so well. So, so yeah, I'd give it a, if I had to give it a
29:47rating out of 10, I'd say like seven and a half, eight for a transfer window, obviously Harvey
29:52Elliott or someone like that would have bumped it up to a nine maybe, but, uh, but yeah, how would,
29:57if you had to rate it out of 10, Henry, what, what would you, what would you go for?
30:03My head says, my head says about 6.5 because of the issue of not signing a replacement for
30:12Joe Pedro. Yeah. And I think it's, I don't know as a, as a bright replacement, but for
30:19in a year's time, it wasn't sort of immediate. Yeah, exactly. And I think the fact that Brighton
30:26was so close to European football last season, um, I think just maybe spending that maybe extra
30:3330 million, maybe 40 million. I know I say extra, like it's a Tesco meal deal or something,
30:39but it's, it's, um, yeah, I just feel like we were so close. And then to lose Joe Pedro,
30:46I think we had to get someone else so that these two Greek lads didn't have all of the pressure on
30:52them. And I think relying on saying, oh, it's good. It's a good transfer window, but these guys need to
30:58come good, isn't fair yet. You know, they might come good and I might eat my own words and then,
31:04and then I will, you know, confess my sins on that one. But at the moment, yeah, I see it as sort of
31:09a, maybe 6.5, seven out of 10 sort of transfer window, fairly solid. Um, and probably the biggest
31:14positives come from the players we haven't sold. Yes. Yeah. Agreed. And they've trimmed, they've sort
31:21of got really, they've trimmed the squad as well, which I think is key. I think in terms of the
31:25Joe Pedro replacement, I think they're looking at sort of the likes of Mitoma to get 10 goals,
31:30the likes of Minte to get 10 goals, Jorginho 10, Welbeck 10. And I think that that was the plan to
31:35cover it from a, you know, a number of, of basis and then hope the Greek lads can obviously come
31:41through, through later. But, um, but yeah, it's, it's always a gamble, isn't it? We'll, we'll see.
31:46Um, Sam, what, what would you, how would you assess the transfer window? What rating would you give?
31:52I'll go with similar rating to you, Darren. I think seven, seven and a half, something like that.
31:56And I think mainly because of being able to keep hold of players in, in, um, Mitoma, Van Heek and
32:01Carlos Baleva as well, who obviously was heavily linked to Manchester United. And I feel like if that
32:07had gone through, Man United had of, um, broke the bank and come in with a massive bid that Brighton
32:13simply couldn't turn down, that very quickly could have made the window a five or even, even less, to be honest.
32:21Yeah. Um, and, and, and, and Mitoma as well, I think it was, it was huge to keep hold of him
32:26because, um, there was obviously heavy links to Bayern Munich at the end of the season. And you're
32:30wondering if, if he, at this stage of his career and the quality that he has, would want to go and
32:34play European football. Um, he's definitely good enough to go and play in the Champions League.
32:38Um, so I feel like it really just shows his loyalty to the club that he's, he's still there
32:42after all this time. And, and he was brilliant again against, um, Man City. Obviously provided,
32:48um, the key pass for, for the goal, um, winning goal as well. Um, and I think I had a shot brilliantly
32:54saved towards the start of the match and yeah, just fantastic to still see him in a Brighton shirt.
32:59And again, in the, in the forward lines, you, you do hope that it, that it's okay this season,
33:06obviously with Regal Pedro leaving, cause he was the main, the main, um, departure, which does
33:12leave some room for concern as we've discussed. Um, but yeah, time will tell, time will tell.
33:16If it does come to a point in the season when they're struggling for goals and, um,
33:20Danny Welbe, it's not quite finding the form that you had last season or the Greek lads,
33:24um, are still taking some time to set it in. And it, there could be, could be a few issues and
33:28you wonder where, where the goals will, will come from. But as you mentioned,
33:32Jan Kuberminta, I think is only getting better and better. Um, he really showed, um, great signs
33:37of his improvements against Man City as well, just his passing range. And, um, there's a great moment
33:43where he kind of had the ball on the right hand side and he cut in and had a shot. It was, it was
33:47bright and worth pushing for, for the winner. And there's definitely some really great signs from,
33:52from him. And obviously you've got Jorginho, um, back in the team and he's just such a, um, a good,
33:58a good vibe in the team, isn't he? He brings such a, a joyful presence to, to the, to the Brighton
34:03team. And it's great to have him, have him back and he can chip in the goals as well. So I do think
34:07they'll be, they'll be fine, um, in the goal scoring department. So I'd say, yeah, on the,
34:11on the face of it, I'd say, yeah, about seven, seven out of 10. I think the only thing that
34:16could have improved it was maybe some cover, uh, at right back, if they've got someone like
34:20Joe Gomez in or just a bit of defensive cover there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think that could
34:27have made it a nine or a 10. Yeah. Well, all in all pretty solid. And I think, I think that,
34:32I think they can have a good, good season there. They haven't got European competition to,
34:37you know, they're going to be playing pretty much once, once a week, which is, um, I think
34:42that's that their squad that they have can, can certainly manage, manage that workload. So, uh,
34:47so yeah, fingers crossed. The only thing I did notice the other day is that Carlos Belieber,
34:51he's on AFCON duty and they're having the AFCON in December this, this year. So I think he's going
34:57to miss sort of, um, a period of games over the, over the festive period because they shifted the
35:03tournament because of the club world cup, uh, last earlier. So, so yeah, they'll be without
35:09Belieber for a few matches, but again, hopefully they can cover that. But, but no, thanks. Uh,
35:15thanks guys. Thanks for, uh, thanks for going through that. That's the end of another, uh, another
35:20transfer window and we'll see, um, see how they get on after the international break when they play
35:26Bournemouth, uh, when they, when they return. So, uh, yeah, thanks chaps. Cheers, Darren.
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