Analysis

Brighton are one of the lowest spending teams in the Premier League. Most reports say the club has one of the league’s three lowest wage bills, and their record signing cost just £30 million. After another strong season, the Seagulls now seem ready to spend big this summer.  According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Brighton are preparing a bid for Juventus midfielder Manuel Locatelli. Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi has long admired Locatelli. The 44-year-old manager coached the 26-year-old midfielder when he was in charge of Sassuolo between 2018 and 2021.  Locatelli joined Juventus in 2021 on a deal with  €25 million (£21 million) plus add-ons. He’s so far racked up 122 appearances and 4 goals for I Bianconeri. At Sassuolo under De Zerbi, the Italian midfielder played 99 matches and...

Manchester City vs. Arsenal this weekend could be a potential Premier League-deciding match. The Gunners are top of the table on 64 points, but City are right behind them with 63 points.  Injuries to Kyle Walker, John Stones, Kevin De Bruyne, Manuel Akanji, and Ederson before and during the international break threatened to dampen the spectacle on Sunday. Thankfully, it now looks like several of these key Man City starters could be back for the Arsenal match.  Kevin De Bruyne Kevin De Bruyne didn’t play for Belgium during the international break. The legendary playmaker was suffering from a lingering groin injury and needed a period of rest to recover fully.  Even with that time to rest, he is a doubt for Man City vs. Arsenal. However, De Bruyne was spotted in training on Thursday,...

Roberto De Zerbi is one of the most in-demand managers in all of football right now. In just the last two weeks, he has been concretely linked to Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Napoli, and Manchester United. Another recent report now says the Italian is not in contention for the Barcelona job. According to Mundo Deportivo reporter Fernando Polo, Barcelona do not want to hire De Zerbi because he does not have experience managing a big club like Barcelona. Polo also says Brighton’s asking price for De Zerbi is more than La Blaugrana are willing to pay.  “His inexperience with top-level clubs and the fact that he has a release clause of €10m-€25m play against (De Zerbi),” the bombshell report says.  This news is good news for Brighton fans who want to keep their manager around, but it doe...

Spanish media reported this week that Roberto De Zerbi wanted to keep Ansu Fati on loan for another season at Brighton. New reports from Barcelona make it very unlikely the Italian will not get what he wants next season.  Diario SPORT reporter David Bernabeu Reverter claims that Barcelona have made a list of players the club want to sell this summer. Ansu Fati is one of the names on this list. “They tell me that the sale [of Fati] has been decided,” Bernabeu Reverter revealed on Monday. Clément Lenglet, Eric García, Raphinha, and one, or both, of Andreas Christensen and Jules Koundé are the other players Bernabeu Reverter says Barcelona will sell this summer.  According to Bernabeu Reverter, “Barcelona want to raise €200 million in sales this summer.” Barcelona will use these fund...

Roberto De Zerbi has two years left on his contract with Brighton. However, with every week, it's seeming less and less likely that the Italian will actually see out that contract. Reports are constantly coming out linking the current Brighton boss to a big job away from the South Coast. This week’s reports say that Bayern Munich are interested in signing De Zerbi. Bayern interested in De Zerbi Matteo Moretto of Revalo reported that Bayern have made contact with De Zerbi about taking over for the outgoing Thomas Tuchel this summer. German newspaper Bild and Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg have also confirmed this report. Despite their concrete interest, De Zerbi is not the club’s first choice manager. The German giants have prioritized poaching Xabi Alonso from their Bundesl...

Brighton are one of the most exciting teams in world football, but they have their flaws. One of the club's biggest flaws right now is the lack of a solid right back. According to RTI Esporte, the Seagulls are finally getting ready to address this problem and spend on a right back this summer.  The Brazilian news outlet claims that the Seagulls have bid €4 million on Flamengo fullback Wesley França. The report says Brighton have also offered a 20% sell-on clause as a part of the deal.  The 20-year-old has been a mainstay for the Rubro-Negro since breaking into the squad last season. Because of this Flamengo have rejected Brighton’s offer. Flamengo reportedly want at least €8 million for Wesley.  It’s unclear whether Brighton are willing to meet Flamengo’s asking price, but with ho...

Brighton signing Barcelona wonderkid Ansu Fati on loan last September was one of the most surprising moves of the Premier League summer transfer window. Despite the high hopes for Fati at Brighton, he has not torn it up on the South Coast so far this season.  The 21-year-old has scored just four goals in all competitions this season and has been plagued by injuries since November. As bad as it’s been for Fati, Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi is not willing to give up on the young winger just yet.  According to Diario SPORT reporter Toni Juanmartí, De Zerbi wants to bring Fati back on loan next season. De Zerbi reportedly thinks Fati just needs a little more time. “Fati is a sleeping giant and Roberto is determined to wake him up,” says the bombshell Diario SPORT report.  This news ...

If you’ve watched Brighton at all this season, you know that Roberto De Zerbi likes to rotate who plays for him up front. Some weeks it’s João Pedro who starts up front. Others, it’s Irish wonderkid Evan Ferguson or Danny Welbeck.  Ferguson and Pedro are players Brighton know they can count on in the future. They can’t say the same for Danny Welbeck, and have started to look for his replacement. HITC’s Graeme Bailey reported this week that Vitoria Guimaraes’ Jota Silva is one of the names Brighton could sign to replace Welbeck.  The 24-year-old Portuguese international has 9 goals and 5 assists in the Primeira Liga this season. As a right-footed player, he predominantly plays as a right winger. Silva has also played through the middle for Vitoria Guimaraes as a traditional striker or...