Brighton were one of the biggest spenders in all of world football this summer. The Seagulls spent nearly £200m on some of the most in demand players in Europe. Now that we’ve actually seen most of these players in action, let’s rank all of Brighton’s summer transfers.
Georginio Rutter: A
Fabian Hürzeler took his time bedding in Georginio Rutter after Brighton signed him for a club record fee of £40m from Leeds. It’s still early, but now that we’ve seen what the Frenchman can do, it’s looking like he’s worth every penny.
Rutter’s technical ability, work rate, versatility has been essential to making Brighton’s attack work while João Pedro has been injured. We saw all three aspects of his game on full display against Tottenham, where he scored a goal and later fought free from three Spurs defenders to provide the assist on Danny Welbeck’s match-winning goal.
If he keeps up the form we’ve seen recently, Rutter will easily go down as Brighton’s signing of the season for this year.
Malick Yalcouyé: B+
18-year-old midfielder Malick Yalcouyé is probably the most under the radar signing the Seagulls made this summer. It’s looking like he might also be one of the club’s best.
Brighton signed the Ivorian from IFK Göteborg for £6m. He impressed so much in training that Hürzeler and the club’s coaching staff discussed keeping him at Brighton for the 2024/25 Premier League season. Instead, Yalcouyé was loaned to Sturm Graz in the Austrian Bundesliga.
The 18-year-old impressed in Austria just as quickly as he did in England. After making sub appearances in his first two matches on the bench, Yalcouyé has started Sturm Graz’s last four matches. He assisted a goal in his first start, and scored a goal three matches later against Austrian giants RB Salzburg.
On pure talent, Yalcouyé is probably below some of Brighton’s other signings. When you consider his price, potential, and quick start though, it’s hard to argue with giving him at least a B+.
Yankuba Minteh: B
Brighton’s £30m-move for Yankuba Minteh set the tone for the rest of the club’s record-breaking transfer window. The Seagulls had signed on one of the most exciting prospects for a discount price thanks to Newcastle’s precious PSR situation. The hype was enormous. Unfortunately, Minteh has not quite lived up to that hype.
Minteh has a goal and an assist this season. He’s also linked up well with Brigthon’s other forward players in counter attacking scenarios. It’s very clear that the 20-year-old has a lot of potential, game-breaking pace, and good attacking instincts. His decision making and defensive work rate leave a lot to be desired though.
Too many times so far this season we’ve seen Minteh take on a player when he should’ve passed or pass into a player when the right option was to drive with the ball. His crosses haven’t been the best either.
On the bright side, it’s still very early in his Brighton career. In a year’s time, Minteh could be an A+ signing. For now though, he gets a B.
Mats Wieffer: C+
Minteh’s teammate at Feyenoord last year, Mats Wieffer, is sort of in the same category as the Gambian for me. He’s obviously a very talented player, but his consistency so far keeps me from giving him a higher grade.
Unlike Yasin Ayari, Carlos Baleba, James Milner, and even Billy Gilmour before he left the club, Wieffer has yet to really put a stamp on a game for Brighton this season. He ranks near the bottom of almost every chance creation and defensive stat among Brighton midfielders. The only stat he leads is fouls per 90 minutes.
It’s harsh to call Wieffer a passenger, but that’s what he’s looked like in most of the matches he’s featured in so far. He gets a C+ from me until we see more from him.
Ferdi Kadıoğlu: C
Brighton signed Ferdi Kadıoğlu for €30m from Fenerbahçe, making him the most expensive player ever sold by a Süper Lig club. After his performances with Turkey at the 2024 Euros, many of us thought he would walk right into Brighton’s starting lineup as a more attacking right back in place of Joël Veltman.
So far, we’ve only seen him play there once for Brighton, and that was in the club’s disastrous 4-2 loss to Chelsea. Playing as a left back against Spurs, he was very clearly the weak link in Brighton’s back line. The game completely changed when he was subbed off at halftime for Pervis Estupiñán.
Kadıoğlu was definitely not the biggest problem for Brighton in either of those matches, but his lack of ability in defense has me starting to wonder if he is actually the answer to Brighton’s full back problem. Further up the pitch, Kadıoğlu has looked pretty solid. That’s not the role he was brought in to play though.
Right now, Kadıoğlu is a bit of a luxury player who’s not better than Brighton’s other fullback or winger options, so I can’t give him more than anything higher than a C.
Ibrahim Osman: C
Ibrahim Osman was technically the first player Brighton signed of the summer transfer window. The club agreed to buy from FC Nordsjælland in February. He joined the club in the summer and took part in Seagulls’ preseason campaign before joining Feyenoord on loan.
Osman has impressed and looks like he will be a key player for the Dutch side this season. The Ghanaian has started four of Feyenoord’s last five matches, playing as a right winger. This includes De Stadionclub’s 3-2 win over Girona in the Champions League.
It’s really too early to give Osman a solid grade, but since he’s playing consistently and looks on track to be a key player for Feyenoord, I’ll give him a C.
Amario Cozier-Duberry: C-
Amario Cozier-Duberry joined Brighton on a free transfer from Arsenal in the summer. He had yet to make a senior appearance for the Gunners, but was still a very highly rated prospect. Multiple Championship clubs were reportedly strongly trying to bring him in on loan to upgrade their starting 11s. Cozier-Duberry ended up joining Blackburn Rovers. Unfortunately, he has not been anywhere near the Riversiders’ starting lineup.
Cozier-Duberry has played just 75 minutes across five matches. He did score two goals for Blackburn’s U21 team, but overall his loan stint has been pretty disappointing so far.
Matt O’Riley, Brajan Gruda: Incomplete
Brighton signed Matt O’Riley from Celtic this summer for £25m. Brajan Gruda came in shortly after for £25m as well from Mainz. Both players have played a combined 12 minutes in all competitions for the Albion this season. It would be unfair to give them a grade now.
O’Riley will be out for another month, while Gruda made his debut for the club just before the international break and has been deemed fit to play. The German should get plenty more minutes for Seagulls after the international break.
